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Cool Rowings challenge Olympic Champions on ITV

The team that took the 91��ɫ Indoor Championships by storm face off against Emily Craig MBE and Imogen Grant MBE in the new series of You Bet!

For many, the idea of racing against Olympic Champions is just a pipedream. That’s all it was for Maureen Nay and the rest of the Cool Rowings team. Based out of the Mercury Shopping Centre in Romford, Cool Rowings aims to bring more diversity to the sport of rowing.

It was whilst being interviewed on Sunday Morning Live on BBC1 that they caught the eye of a producer from ITV who immediately jumped at the opportunity to feature the team on the new series of You Bet.

Founded by the UK’s first champion of Gladiator Weininger Irwin, the team immediately became a priority for ITV to get on board.

“At this point, she didn’t know what the challenge was or what it would be, but she knew she wanted to get us on the show, explained Maureen.

“There was the appeal of seeing us on BBC1, seeing us on rowing machines in action, and also the competitiveness of getting the presenters, Miss Hazel, and Aaliyah all racing over 250m.

“They called us and started talking to our seniors, and they were enamoured by their character and said to everyone that if they knew of a challenge, that would be great, as they wanted to include us. They also knew that Weininger was the winner of  Gladiators, so she wanted to bring all of this together.

“That’s where I came in. I thought that we want to drum up enough people watching, then we need somebody famous or perhaps some Olympic Champions. I thought I’d just throw it out there and see what happens, but not to race them on water because we just row indoors!”

The day of filming is one that won’t be forgotten any time soon. Cool Rowings faced off against reigning Olympic Champions Emily Craig and Imogen Grant, who took to the water whilst Weininger and the team raced on Concept 2 machines on land. Add in the charismatic quarter of Stephen Mulhern, Oti Mabuse, Danny Jones, and Greg Rutherford, and a huge amount of fun was had by everyone involved.

“I don’t know if they filmed it, but just before we started, Weininger started singing. There was singing and clapping going towards the ergs, and then Danny, Oti, and Greg joined in. I hope they captured it because we all started singing and clapping, and it became a chant, one big party! The energy was off the charts, and the banter between Miss Hazel and the rest of them was great,” continued Maureen.

For Weininger and Maureen, this opportunity is also about getting as many eyes on rowing as possible.

“I’m hoping for a tsunami of interest in regard to getting into the sport,” explained the Gladiator winner.

“Our aim is to get diversity, age, and ability right across the board interested and then guide them, if they want to, onto the water so that the sport can be more accessible and diverse too.”

“The whole Cool Rowings ethos is to bring more diversity to this fantastic sport. We want more people to be engaged. We are an official 91��ɫ Go Row Indoor club, and we want more people to be aware that we are based at the Mercury Shopping Centre in Romford. We’re doing some very interesting things in regard to rowing. One of the things that I’ve spoken about before is getting a younger audience, not necessarily using the rowing machine, but doing something a little bit different. That’s our aim, to engage and get people into the sport but also engage a younger audience. We are pretty creative with our approach in getting people into indoor rowing.

This idea of involving young children in rowing is something that Maureen built upon.

“We’ve gone into infant schools using no rowing machines, gone into secondary schools but used the ergs, and it’s all to generate interest in the sport.” She said.

“Our aim is to get them interested, even though we’re indoor, we can then lead them onto a pathway to the water, but you have to get them interested. You can’t throw a five-year-old on the water; you can’t throw a seven-year-old on the water. 11 and above, probably yes, but you can make sure they are interested and that they have the rowing action, so that when they do go onto the water, it’s not as daunting. Our aim is to get diversity, age, and ability right across the board interested and then guide them, if they want to, onto the water so that the sport can be more accessible and diverse too.”

After last year’s unforgettable experience, Cool Rowings will be returning to BRIC in December. They were one of the stars of the show at this festival of indoor rowing and will be aiming to build on their performances. For Weininger, though, he already has his sights set on 2026.

“We are actively speaking with potential sponsors that will back us in putting on the first of its kind, Cool Rowings Red Nose National Primary Schools Regatta. We’ve got the how; all we want is the sponsors to back us and let us lead on it and take it from there.”

 

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For Weininger, it all boils down to a simple saying: “We’re calling all Olympians, World Champions, novices, and spectators to come down to the historic town of Romford to check us out, to have a go and have a row!”