If you were to walk down to Stanford lock in Oxfordshire on any afternoon of the week from September to July, you would most likely see boys of all ages, abilities, and physical attributes in boats from Eights to Singles and everything in between. They all have one thing in common: they all take pride in racing in the Radley red and white. From humble beginnings in 1847 to now, Radley is undoubtedly one of the top school boat clubs in Britain.
In the competitive world of schoolboy rowing where established names like Eton, Shrewsbury and St Pauls standout, it would easy for one to forget Radley. However, just taking one look at recent Radley results immediately contradicts this. At the 2019 National School’s Regatta, Radley won four golds and four bronze. This included a clean sweep in the J14 8x+1, an event record for the 2nd 8+ and another in the Ch 2-. Both record-breaking pair members {Felix Rawlinson and Edward Rae Smith} represented GB at the Munich International Regatta, taking silver in the Eight. Felix competed at the Junior World Championships in 2019. He won an additional silver before heading off to join the Dartmouth College “Big Green” Men’s Heavyweight rowing program where Ned joined him last year. Both boys started rowing as most Radley boys do in year Nine. Boys have “taster” sculling sessions in the winter and autumn terms before choosing rowing as their summer sport. In keeping with its role as a nursery of champions, Radley has scarily good facilities for a school of its size and age. Training takes place at intervals within the week, with water sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, interspersed with ergo sessions in Radley custom-built “McKenna S&C Centre” or a session in Radley’s custom onsite rowing tank.
“At RCBC we have been turning the disappointments of lockdown into as positive an experience as possible for the rowers. We’ve focussed on providing as much support as possible for the boys training from home. We have developed a diverse training programme with opportunities to run or cycle, along with online ergo, strength and conditioning sessions and yoga sessions. We have regular opportunities to catch up with the coaching team as individuals or in small groups to help with loss of social interaction imposed by the lockdown. Virtual competition has been encouraged through matches with other local schools, and to end this half term the boys are raising money for the Young Minds Trust – a charity providing mental health support for young people”.
Chris Bartley – Senior Coach, Radley College Boat Club
All these facilities aside, Radley also has a superb coaching staff. Starting from the top is Sam Townsend. Former Rio and London competitor, European and World medalist, Sam joined Radley in 2016 as “Master in Charge of the Boat Club” replacing John Gearing, who manages the Senior Squad but has recently been drafted by Team GB to prepare for Tokyo. Also helping out is Chris Bartley, Olympic lightweight silver medalist from London, Michel Genchi former head of OUWBC and the GB Lightweight women’s squad and James Robson, recent GB half marathon record-breaker.
In terms of the schoolboy rowing calendar’s biggest race, i.e. “The Princess Elizabeth Cup” at HRR, Radley’s fortunes can best be described as “close but no cigar”. Radley has the dubious distinction of being the most frequent losing finalist, having failed to win six times, their last win of three coming in 1998. A less than ideal record for any club, this has been compounded by extreme bad luck. In 2017 when Radley last made the final, their crew was healthy and looked well placed to win after having seen off perennial challengers Shiplake in the semi-finals. However, they faced a Scotch College Melbourne crew {mullets and all} that were regarded as the most awesome schoolboy crew of all time. In 2018, they looked well placed to make the final again but succumbed to St Paul’s 2018 crew, billed as the greatest.
Never ones to rest on their laurels, Radley rowing has continued during the lockdown, with virtual ergo fixtures against Shiplake and London Oratory, and an upcoming charity event to raise money for “Heads Together”, where boys will row, cycle and swim marathon distances. But for all it’s alumna and medals, for all its impressive facilities and coaches, the Radley College rowing ethos is perhaps best summed up with this quote from the rowing page on the Radley website: “rowing develops team spirit and an ability to work together”.
Want to find out more about Radley College? Check out their website.
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Cover image via Avon County Rowing Club
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