New school year, new sporting opportunities

An interview with Alastair Horn, Boathouse Manager at Fulham Reach Boat Club

Fulham Reach Boat Club is a registered charity and rowing club, with a vision of “Rowing for All”. They proactively reach out to the local community to encourage as many people to try rowing as possible, regardless of background. Their four charity projects target state-school students, children on free school meals, the local community, and prisoners.

I sat down with Alastair Horn, Boathouse Manager at Fulham Reach Boat Club, who shared his recent experience starting the new school year and mobilising one of the largest youth rowing outreach programmes in the country.  

While his daughter, Matilda, has now joined the coaching team at Cambridge University Boat Club, Alastair leads one of the largest rowing outreach programmes in the country and anticipates helping teach over 1,500 from across West London to row this academic year.

How did it start? 

My introduction to rowing began in 1999 at Staines Boat Club.

Three seasons on, I started coaching in 2003, at Eton Excelsior Rowing Club, following in the footsteps of my daughter Matilda when she started rowing at the club. It was a special moment this summer when we both coached together at Fulham Reach Boat Club.

What is Fulham Reach Boat Club all about? 

Fulham Reach Boat Club is a sports development charity that provides access and opportunities for young people to learn and experience rowing on the Thames in the shadow of Hammersmith Bridge.

However, I believe we offer far more than just a sport. We provide safe access to ‘blue space’ in one of the highest populated areas in the country, children are exposed to significant and lasting benefits for their wellbeing that remains with them throughout their lives. 

Why are you passionate about rowing – what makes it unique? 

It’s the ultimate team sport. Teaching a non-contact team sport improves physical and mental health for all, irrespective of size, gender or background. 

Rowing promotes teamwork, camaraderie, friendships, leadership, confidence, resilience, determination and so much more. Skills and experiences you would find hard to get from any other single source. 

Also time outside the classroom provides an opportunity to help focus, adapt, challenge and change. 

How many schools are you working with? What is that like? 

Fulham Reach Boat Club are working with 11 state schools and three private schools.

It has been an amazing start to the school year – in this first half term we have had nearly 600 children learn to row. All of them will get out on the water every week, some up to five times.

The Year 9 groups of children learning to row will be initially with us for six weeks before we rotate to give the next group a go. We have one school that brings down all 120 Year 9 pupils in their first term. Most schools continue to offer rowing for Year 10 to 13 students.

We also run a club Junior Squad for those who don’t have the opportunity to continue through their schools and we provide Reach Pathway bursaries to support those who are from low-income households. 

What do you think engages the children the most? 

It’s difficult to answer this question with one thing. For some it’s having a safe space; this is possibly the most important thing we provide. For others, it’s forming friendships outside of their school groups. Of course, for some, it’s seeing how far they can take the sport, through competitions.

What do you find most rewarding about the work? 

Seeing children’s confidence grow is very satisfying. We also have so many great volunteers who help with anything from the holiday water sport weeks to regular weekend coached sessions, even after their own training is done. I think this speaks volumes about programmes we provide and the pull of Fulham Reach Boat Club.

What are you looking forward to? 

We are starting to explore using the sport of rowing as a therapy, building on what we do in our Boats Not Bars programme. We are testing how we support people who need it most to experience the benefits of being on the water, teamwork, and physical activity. 

This year we are piloting rowing with local-based alternative provision schools. These are schools where children have been excluded from mainstream education and have special educational needs. We believe we can have a hugely positive impact here by creating a unique and stimulating experience to help them to engage with education. 

Another area that is exciting this year is our work to educate and protect the environment. We have started hosting river clean-ups, weekly water quality tests, and we are planning our transition to net zero through us of green electric energy to power our coaching boats. 

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