This is your weekly Rowing Briefing, covering the key developments of the last seven days on the rowing circuit, both in the UK and beyond. To receive an audio briefing with these stories and more at the start of each week, sign up to Updates. If you have a story to share, contact our news desk – juniorrowingnews@gmail.com.
Domestic Rowing:
“Equally, the field of tens of thousands attracted by Tideway competition delivers significant economic benefits to local businesses such as restaurants and hotels. None of this competition – all key moments in the annual calendar for our more than 30,000 members – can take place while passage under the bridge is prohibited.”
Mark Davis – Chair, British Rowing
As lockdown-like measures come into force once again in the UK, many rowers find themselves unsure of what the latest announcements from Whitehall mean for the continuation of our sport.
British Rowing has this week clarified what the latest government guidelines mean for rowing, with suggestions that members should be asked to ‘opt-in’ to activities that carry an increased risk, such as racing or coxing – both classified as aerosol-generating activities. The full guidance is found within the Return to Rowing document.
Chair of British Rowing, Mark Davies has written to the government this week to highlight his concern regarding the Hammersmith Bridge Closure. In an open letter, he asks the government’s rowing task-force and Hammersmith & Fulham Council to commit to ensuring that any solution in the short or long term allows for safe passage under the iconic bridge for rowers. Should the waterway remain closed beyond the beginning of the season, the impact would be severe, both for events such as the Boat Races and Schools’ Head, but also for day-to-day rowing activity in the Fulham area.
GB Athletes Hattie Taylor and Ollie Wynne-Griffith have launched their ‘ONE thing’ campaign, which aims to encourage people from all backgrounds to do ONE thing, whether than be running a kilometre, mastering a handstand or any other ONE themed event. Hattie said: “As a team we had been having lots of discussions about the Black Lives Matter protests and talking about what we could do to help within the world of rowing. We came up with the idea of a challenge that centred on the theme of encouraging diversity and inclusivity within our sport. If everyone can challenge themselves to do one thing to make rowing more inclusive that will add up to a huge movement.”
The accounts of British Rowing Limited will be published today, ahead of the thirty-seventh Annual General Meeting, which will be a closed forum attended only by regional representatives. It is planned that members will have the option to participate in further meetings later in the year.
Paralympic Champion Grace Clough has announced her retirement from the British Rowing Team ahead of the Tokyo Games. Clough plans to return to university to complete her degree and become a PE teacher at a school in Sheffield. She told British Rowing, “I’m hoping I can use my experiences to show the importance of staying involved in sport and staying active after leaving school. Physical activity has huge mental and physical benefits and allows you to challenge yourself personally every day.”
International Rowing:
“I will never forget what I saw that day on the way to the training centre, it was a nightmare. Thank God nobody was training at this time because of the Covid-19 restrictions. The rowing training centre was totally destroyed.”
Rodrigue Ibrahim
A quiet week on the international circuit saw the first virtual edition of the World Master Regatta, as well as the emergence of harrowing reports from Beirut which expose the true impact of the blast on rowing in the port.
World Rowing has launched a social media search for the best rowing tricks from rowers everywhere. Athletes with a particularly impressive skill in the boat are being asked to submit photos of their achievements to World Rowing, or tag the official World Rowing account in their social media posts to be in with a chance of being featured.
The World Rowing Masters Regatta is the highlight of the year for masters rowers across the globe, but with Covid restrictions preventing an international event, FISA organised a virtual alternative. Competitors rowed over a distance of 1000m on the ergo, before submitting their time to World Rowing. The fastest times of the event were 2:52 and 3:11 for men and women respectively.
The BBC spoke to a coach from the Lebanese Rowing Federation’s National Training Centre which was destroyed in the blast last month. You can read his story here.
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