1246 articles later, the time has come for Junior Rowing News to celebrate its seventh birthday, on the anniversary of the first published article. From what began as one keen and knowledgeable junior wanting to shed light on the crews for the 2013 Princess Elizabeth, we have expanded into a team of juniors across the UK who willingly giving up their time to bring you previews, editorials, product reviews, insight into events; the list goes on. Writers past and present have gone on to huge success in the rowing world, whether that be competing on the international stage or climbing the ranks of the rowing journalism scene. We love what we do, and are hopeful for what the future can bring for JRN’s expansion.
To celebrate our birthday, we have put together a list of ten of our favourite articles from this giant back-catalogue.
The article that started it all. Patient Zero. The opening statement that preceded a CV of rowing-related ranting. Written in a desperate attempt to avoid revision for his Economics AS-Level, Tom didn’t really expect this to extend beyond the summer, let alone seven years later with a fully fledged team, podcast, digital channels and partnerships with top rowing brands. Tom loves the sport and was always the kid on the start-line who knew everything about every other athlete. In the end, he decided to commit it to paper.
We couldn’t compile this list without including at least one article from the National Schools’ Regatta. Although there have been several to choose from, ranging from the Junior 15 Quads up to the fastest eights, we felt that it was only right to include one that went into the level of detail we’re used to seeing at JRN. Written by Emma Andrews, this was our third year of covering the event and the unfolding narrative between Headington and Henley made for compelling writing.
Henley Royal Regatta last year was the first time JRN had a dedicated team of four people working from the Monday through to Finals day with a sole focus on the 3 junior events. This article was the culmination of an entire’s year worth of racing and a few days of Henley training observation on our part that had to be condensed so that all sixteen races could be previewed. This is no doubt the most fun Will Tyrrell has had writing an article, although the office backdrop of the press box looking onto the Henley course may have influenced that somewhat.
Our first example of original journalism, in seeking out a story for a wider audience. Mossbourne had just become the first state school to allocate additional spaces in year nine based on a pupil’s potential to become an elite rower, and JRN traveled to Hackney to interview Headteacher Peter Hughes. Elements of the article eventually ended up appearing in the Daily Telegraph.
The very definition of a JRN preview. Well-researched, well thought-out, impressive knowledge of competition combined with personal experience on the course. At one of the UK’s premier rowing events, we’re always keen to get it right – and on this occasion, we think Lucy did.
Back when the biggest threat to the rowing community was cancelled races due to weather, this is the first article that mentions Covid-19, and what simpler times they were. The Covid-19 world map of stats only has case numbers going up to 1,000.
One of our longest continued partnerships, this article was different to what people may think JRN does on a day-to-day basis. In helping launch the training shoe to the community, we held our own photo-shoot in the St Paul’s School erg room. Fast forward nine months and you can now enter a chance to win the TC-01 training shoe this article reviews by entering the writing competition we set up in association with British Rowing and Mizuno.
This was our first preview of an event taking place overseas and was written by our editor at the time, Seb Benzecry. The majority of crews mentioned in this articles were based in the US, not only shedding light on their feats to the British readership, but also giving a unique comparison into this international matchup of crews on one of the best courses in the world.
Shortly after St Paul’s recorded a frankly astonishing victory in the Queen Mother Cup at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2018 – before going on to set a new course record at Henley Royal Regatta in the process of clinching the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup – we sat down with Director of Rowing and long-time JRN supporter Bobby Thatcher to discuss his remarkable crew. Here, he gives us anatomical detail on how he built arguably the best junior boat ever.
At JRN, we’ve always taken pride in supporting relevant, socially conscious causes in our community. Rowing is a strange, sometimes oddly backwards, sport that carries the millstone legacy of a privileged, white-man’s activity. Our resident Northern expert, Emily Reilly-O’Donnell, wrote this on the rise of the state school within rowing last year, highlighting a trend that is rapidly becoming more prevalent on our rivers and lakes.
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