Molesey Boat Club (MBC) is located just upstream of Hampton Court Palace in south west London, in the community of East Molesey and Hampton Court Village. The club is ideally situated out of the hectic lifestyle of the city, but with a direct connection to central London, taking half an hour by train from Hampton Court Station to Waterloo.
MBC is a GB Rowing Team High Performance Programme and is also an active community rowing club. As such it offers opportunities at every level, from athletes aspiring to national selection and club athletes going for a Henley win to juniors starting their rowing careers and masters continuing their enjoyment of the sport. However, Molesey’s paramount focus is to provide pathways for all aspects of high performance success in rowing with a thriving women’s and men’s senior squad (18+) as well as a junior performance squad (J14-J18).
Molesey has been an established name associated with success in rowing since its inception in 1866 through to its present-day Olympians and Paralympians and current national team athletes such as Mo Sbihi, Beccy Muzerie (née Girling) and Ollie Stanhope. A unique aspect of Molesey is how former squad athletes and Olympians remain strongly connected to the club, with athletes such as Greg Searle, Cam Nichol, Andy Triggs-Hodge, Richard Stanhope and many more forming the core of a ‘Legends’ squad who often give the current high-performance squads a run for their money at weekend training.
The junior programme runs squads for J14-18 rowers, including learn to row courses from those aged 12+. The focus of the younger squads, being towards learning and enjoying their time on the water and then shifting to a performance focus as they progress through the age groups. At the top level, the club provides two avenues: a performance squad, for those looking to compete on the national stage and go for J16, Coupe or Worlds selection as well as a club squad, for those wanting to keep rowing, but at a more relaxed pace. Generally, the junior programme is sculling focused, with the Diamond Jubilee and Fawley at Henley being key targets, but athletes are also given the opportunity to sweep in their later years.
James Hyder, the Head Junior Coach, leads the programme full time and is supported by a number of experienced professional and volunteer coaches.
The club has produced many junior internationals in recent years, most notably Holly Dunford, Theo Darlow and Mikey Dalton; all of whom have maintained their connection to the club as U23s, either directly at the club or whilst at university. The junior squad has strong connections with both British and overseas universities and supports athletes looking to make the next step in their lives, both and off the water.
The senior end of the club is led by Head Coach Franz Imfeld alongside Development Coach Sam Tuck. Franz has led multiple crews to Henley wins and World U23 medals in both the UK and Australia; Sam was recently named Young Coach of the Year by UKCoaching and has taken crews to the European U23 Championships, he also heads up University of Surrey Boat Club, making this a strong partnership with Molesey. Between them they run a full-time squad of U21s, U23s and senior athletes as well as the club squad, for those training around full time jobs, more commonly known as the ‘Breakfast Club’ or ‘BK’.
Molesey is a British Rowing funded programme, with its primary goal, to produce the Olympians of tomorrow. Alongside this, both parts of the senior squad, have winning at Henley as a clear target, but for those who train full time, their primary aim is for national selection at U23, FISU or senior level. The full-time squad training programme is built around the trials schedule and adapted individually to help you achieve your personal goals, alongside the club focus. The BK has its own adapted programme to get you to peak performance, while also being sympathetic to ‘real life’, that most people can’t avoid! The BK’s ambition is to win in the club events at Henley.
The senior squads at Molesey have had a fantastic few years of success, with full club wins at Henley Royal in four of the last five regattas as well as numerous at Henley Women’s. Every year, Molesey has athletes in GB composite crews at both regattas, who then go on to the U23 World Championships. Molesey has had U23 medallists at every U23 world championships since 2015. Despite having tailored training, the men and women of the senior squad, train as one squad, enjoying each other’s success as much as their own personal progress
A key part of the senior squad, as well as our long-term members, is our gap year athletes. Every year, we have male and female athletes joining us for a season post school or post university, looking to make the transition into the next stage of their rowing career or achieve that goal they didn’t quite make. These athletes regularly have a huge amount of success and gain invaluable experience to help further their ambitions, be that longer term with the club or as way of boosting their recruitability to your dream university. The coaching team work with them to help find accommodation and employment for their time at the club, and onwards, with many coming back post university. As well as rowing support from the coaches, the club has an active welfare programme available to assist with all other aspects that young athletes may need support with: from job applications and employment mentoring to mental health and wellbeing, nutrition, life skills and mindfulness.
For those looking to continue training at Molesey, but also wanting to study, the partnership with the University of Surrey is a great option: train at a leading British HP club and study at a leading British university. Many athletes use the connection with Surrey to continue their study at a post grad level, while training and racing with Molesey, as well as those who choose it as an undergraduate option and throw themselves into full Surrey life.
Alongside a top coaching team, Molesey’s secret to success is the stretch that we are lucky enough to row on. The reach from Sunbury Lock to Molesey Lock is one of the calmest and most protected in the country. Just under 5k of glassy water shared by only a handful of clubs makes the stretch an absolute dream to train on, from steady paddles in pairs or singles to battle paddling side by side in eights. This was a key reason that led to Molesey being chosen as one of three Elite Training Centres in this most recent lockdown, supporting key athletes on the Olympic pathway from clubs all over London and allowing them to continue their on-water training, under the aegis of GB Rowing.
This, coupled with a superb fleet of Empachers and Hudsons, a purpose built rowing gym, 24 strong erg room and 8 seat indoor rowing tank, as well as in house physio and S&C support, the club is set up to support you achieve your goals. On top of this, the Molesey café in the club house is welcome recovery after training; there’s nothing better than catching up for a coffee on the terrace on a Saturday, having beaten a squad of Olympic legends in the morning time trial!
For further information regarding junior rowing, please contact James Hyder: james.hyder@moleseyboatclub.org
For further information regarding senior rowing, gap years or anything else, please contact Franz Imfeld: franz.imfeld@moleseyboatclub.org or Sam Tuck: sam.tuck@moleseyboatclub.org
Want to find out more about Molesey Boat Club? Check out their website.
With thanks to Franz Imfeld.
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