London Youth Rowing arrives at WJRC 2011
Today (Friday) there will be around 150 young people visiting the WJRC from youth organisations all over London.
Today's event and much more are organised by London Youth Rowing, a charitable organisation founded in 2004 by Jim Downing, an American and ex-city banker. Jim had seen community rowing in action in America and wondered why, after seeing the exclusive nature of rowing in the UK, there was nothing similar to offer young people in inner cities. So he approached London Youth, The Federation of London Youth Clubs with seventy thousand members spread over 400 clubs, and the London Regatta Centre in Newham, East London which provided services mainly to schools.
The MAN Group, sponsors of the MAN Booker Prize and a world leading investment group funded LYR for five years to set up the organisation and for the development of projects and initiatives. Concept2 loaned 80 machines that were placed in schools, youth clubs and community groups based in East London.
Matt Rostron who was closely involved with the development of the English Indoor Rowing Championships was appointed Director of the project. In partnership with Sport England and private funders Matt raised a further £1.4 million to establish Row East London, and to place 5 ergometers in 50% of the schools in East London. Within a short time the Row East London project had five community coaches, each supporting development in approximately 15 secondary schools (or two London Boroughs) each. The project team developed teaching resources aimed at making the experience of Indoor Rowing fun – and to enable the teachers to manage classes of up to 35 students with only 5 ergometers in a single session. Rowing taster events have been organised across the whole of Greater London giving the sport a high profile in all of the 33 London Boroughs.
There is now a competition structure in place between the London Boroughs. London Youth Rowing, in partnership with London Youth Games also organise three events for them, the Indoor Rowing and Adaptive Events and also the on water Regatta. They also launched the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships which has become one of the largest junior indoor rowing event in the World. In 2010 there were over 3000 entries, more than in the World Indoor Rowing Championships held every year in America. Matt stresses the importance of making these events fun for young people to attend. “As well as the rowing there are lots of other cool activities such a climbing wall, graffiti boards, skateboarding and brush boarding / surfing – these make it a fun day and make the young people want to come and compete in future years, they do the marketing for us”
London Youth Rowing also offers the opportunity to learn to row on water at 11 sites across London. The also run the Junior Section at three major rowing clubs where they provide coaching and support to the existing club structure. Mobile learn to row courses are made available using a trailer loaded with easy to assemble, stable boats which can be set up and ready to go in 10 minutes of arriving on site. It means that young people have to travel for far less time than they would normally, ‘rowing comes to you, rather than you going to row’ .They have even set up a project to deliver rowing on one of the most iconic stratches of water in London, the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park.
There have been some fascinating developments, for example in the London Borough of Brixton young people who are part of a gang culture do not venture into Hackney as it is 'enemy territory'. Likewise, Brixton is off limits to Hackney gangs – or rather it was until Indoor Rowing came to town enabling members of youth clubs in these areas to compete on ergometers over the internet and to realise that they have more in common than they thought.
London Youth Rowing is actively demonstrating how to make rowing an accessible and inclusive sport.
To find out more about London Youth Rowing go to: www.londonyouthrowing.com