What a year 2024 was for JRN. We covered more ground than ever – creating content on three continents in seven countries – with the largest team of writers, podcasters, social media execs, photographers, and videographers we have ever had. We broke numerous records – across viewership, engagement rate, volume of content and number of applications to join the team – and now approach the new year with huge excitement for the opportunities ahead.
2025 begins with a renewed commitment across our team. We want to be the world’s leading creator, provider, and distributor of rowing content. We have a lot to talk about at a time when our sport is evolving; JRN’s mission is to capture that evolution every stroke of the way.
2025 will see us continue our coverage of the UK racing calendar in the depth and breadth our audience have become accustomed to. With a team of over 50 writers – spanning juniors, students, club and national-team athletes – we plan to create more previews, more reviews, more analyses and more content focused on this core market.
2025 will also see us expand our global coverage. Teams are already on the ground in key locations like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the USA and the Netherlands, and by the end of August 2025, we want to be active in eight countries worldwide. Under renewed leadership and with regional models akin to the format that has worked in the UK, we plan to provide market-leading coverage created by rowers for rowers.
Our podcast family is growing. As of today, JRN has three distinct podcasts with plans for additions shortly. Our flagship show (The End of the Island) will celebrate its fifth birthday in 2025 following a year where we took the podcast overseas for the first time, after being invited to produce the Head of the Charles’ nightly wrap-up show. This year will also welcome the third edition of our US collegiate show – now branded the ‘All-American Rowing Show’ – and JRN will work closely with the IRA National Championships to broaden the global appeal of these stand-out collegiate events. We also launched ‘Sharing The Podium’ in 2024 and are delighted that this unique platform for women in sport will return for a second series in 2025.
With so much to look forward to – a new Olympiad, the Henley series, fresh narratives at junior, student and club levels across the world – JRN cannot wait to report back to an audience that grows exponentially each year. We surpassed one million views in a calendar on the platform in 2024 and have fantastic support from an array of partners right across the community.
On a personal note, it is so rewarding to be involved with this unique and dynamic platform. When I first started blogging about rowing in 2013, even my wildest imagination could not have transported me to a place where www.juniorrowing.wordpress.com (as it was first known) would become a buzzing, bristling team of over 140 people in three continents whose primary purpose is to provide insightful, engaging, interactive, exciting coverage of the sport we all love.
I wish all of our readers, listeners, supporters and friends a happy and healthy 2025 as we journey together on another go around the crazy carousel of life. As I have learned first-hand over the past 12 months, sport can be a wonderful distraction from the ills of life and can provide solace where previously solitude and sadness were the firmest of companions. I look forward to catching up with many of you on riverbanks and lakesides over the coming months and will end with my annual reminder that JRN cannot continue to grow without the support – but more importantly, the feedback – that this wonderful community provides. Please keep us honest, keep us focused, keep us doing what you love and keep us moving forward.
Go fast and stay safe.
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