The Hinksey Sculling School Story

It takes at least a decade to invigorate a club to success.

That is what former Head Coach Axel Dickinson and Director of Rowing Bodo Schulenburg were told when arriving at Hinksey five years ago. Having made two Henley Royal Regatta finals, sent numerous athletes to the US on scholarships, and pushed multiple athletes to collect U19 World Championship medals, it seems they considered that pessimistic statement a serious challenge. 

Now firmly established as a club performing at the pinnacle of rowing in the UK, it was a harsh, hard-fought rise and a journey with many challenges still ahead. Hinksey has no boathouse and instead houses its small fleet on outside racks at the boathouses of Radley College and St Edward’s. The rowers have no dedicated erg room, and can commonly be found erging under gazebos in the courtyard of their local community centre. Their weights room is a converted water-pumping station, in which the ceiling is largely too low to stand upright. All of these facts have been devoured and regurgitated by commentators nationwide for years, but none have prevented this plucky program from punching far, far above its weight.

So what is this secret formula Hinksey has produced to not just survive in their situation, but thrive? As any coach at Hinksey would tell you without hesitation. It is culture. Desire. Motivation. No telemetry. No heart rate. Just dedication.

Founded in 1998 by John Broadhurst and Tom Collins, who also founded Headington School Oxford BC eight years prior, Hinksey was established as a club for the majority, not the minority, and remains that way to this day, with all four members of last year’s Fawley quad coming from state schools. For most of its history, the Oxford-based club has largely relied on bursary funding, so that should an athlete have potential, they can be allowed to train regardless of their family’s ability to pay club fees. 

However, until recently, Hinksey was a club generally relegated to the minor finals of most national events. It wasn’t until the injection of different ideas by new coaches that everything changed. Bodo Schulenburg, former Head Coach of the University of Oxford Lightweight program, fresh from a sabbatical as a fine-dining chef, joined in September 2018 and was quickly paired with Axel Dickinson, ex-Kiwi international rower, who had recently coached a small yet highly successful squad at Petone Rowing Club in New Zealand. Immediately instigating serious changes to the program, they rapidly saw improvements, with A finals creeping into their results, and with qualification for Henley Royal Regatta happening for the first time in 2019 in the Fawley Challenge Cup. 

In September 2020, James Mcanallen, also an NZ ex-international rower, took over as Head Coach, and continued Dickinsons’ vision; his highly dedicated group of athletes broke into the leagues of the powerhouse sweep clubs for the first time with a junior boys eight. Multiple members of this crew went on to US scholarships and the U23 European World Championships – feats which wouldn’t have been possible without their unbreakable camaraderie and competitiveness. This momentum culminated at Henley Royal Regatta 2021, where the eight was slimmed down to a coxed four for the Britannia Challenge Cup. Spectacularly, only two years after the club’s first qualification, they made it to the final. Rowing in a borrowed boat, they only missed out on red boxes to Frankfurter Germania from Germany, an all-adult outfit. Hinksey saw six crews qualify that same regatta, a 500% increase from last time.

One year on, Hinksey claimed its first national title in the men’s pair at the National Schools’ Regatta, with two members of last season’s Britannia Challenge Cup four. Even more impressively, the club wrapped up the season by sending its first athlete to a World Championships. As only a J16, a member of the girl’s eight stroked the U19 GB Women’s Eight to a silver medal. This was the first concrete evidence of the club’s world-class capabilities.

Another year on, Schulenburg coached a dynamic girl’s coxless four to victory at the 2023 National Schools’ Regatta. Two of these athletes went on to compete at the U19 World Championships, walking away with silver and gold medals. Another two claimed gold at Coupe de la Jeunesse. At Henley 2023, Mcanallen did it again, coaching another group of exceptional athletes to the final of the Fawley Challenge Cup. One of these athletes also claimed silver at Coupe later that summer.

This season, they have already claimed the Junior Club Pennant at the Head of the River Race, and despite injuries in the girl’s squad, have one of the most impressive eights in the country.

Hinksey would attribute their success to making the most out of every session. With limited on-water time available, and most athletes generally only able to attend one session daily, every opportunity must be maximised. The lengths of sessions reflect that, with extended or additional pieces a common sight in the program. Furthermore, the highest-achieving athletes usually take the initiative, with optional extra minutes assigned later in the season. Finally, one of the most vital elements of the Hinksey program is intensity. Particularly in steady state sessions, athletes are expected to push themselves ardently and be competitive, following sustainably challenging split ranges as opposed to heart rate zones – an increasingly rare sight in British rowing.

So what is next for this emerging club? Currently, the club is awaiting planning permission for its very own boathouse, a project Schulenburg launched to help future-proof the program following near-catastrophic uncertainties highlighted by the Covid lockdowns. If successful, it will solidify their legacy and ensure it can continue for years to come. Over recent seasons, the club has drawn in talent from clubs around the southeast region, bolstering their ranks and improving squad depth, a previous weakness.

What can we expect for this club as we enter regatta season? Well, if you were to believe the statement I opened this article with, you shouldn’t expect anything remarkable for at least another five years…but if not, expect anything.

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Lawrence Harkin

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