Sometimes when working in an NGB you need to remind yourself what you are here to do as you get bogged down in what ‘could be done and what should be done’, not to mention the occasional ‘why the hell aren’t yous’. I was privileged this week to have a timely reminder when visiting the North West region to see first-hand all of the great work that is being done across our great sport.

Firstly, a huge thanks to Claire Briegal for organising the day and also for being a wonderful host and tour guide. A huge thanks also to Northwich and Royal Chester RCs, and Warrington, Runcorn, Trafford and Agecroft who gave up valuable time to let me ask questions and show me what they are doing to grow the sport by helping people who wouldn’t normally choose rowing to have a go and see its many benefits.

It reinforced one of my long-standing beliefs that if you have great people, generally, great things tend to happen sometimes in spite of available space and resources.

The day also reinforced what I have already seen in the sport: that is the vast opportunity we have ahead of us to invite more people in from every walk of life to enjoy being out on the water at whatever level they can reach or want to be. It reinforced to me how important coaches are to the delivery of these opportunities which is why we are now developing an affordable, assistant coaches course. This is likely to be delivered online to help give would-be coaches, or those just helping out, practical advice and support so that more and more people can get out on the water. This course will be ready to trial in July with plans for a full roll-out in September.

Finally, I was amazed by some of the ambitions of every single club with most developing – or already having developed – ambitious plans for facilities to create warm, welcoming and modern places to row and socialise. At 91ÌÒÉ« we have started to build plans as to how we might facilitate and support more development of club facilities with funds that could help many of the projects I have heard about and seen happen. More on that to follow.

Since my last update we have also made some good progress in bringing the coaching community together to create a vision for the future which has been a catalyst for the associating coaching course being developed. There are also plans for more online learning on our core courses to get the balance of theory and on-water experience right at every level. A coaching week we will run in September will help continue the conversation as there is so much opportunity and work to be done in this area. We have also now finalised the first cohort of GROW clubs and coaches that will continue to bring the sport to new audiences.

We have also been developing some great plans to grow the infrastructure and availability of coastal rowing too as we build to, and beyond, the hosting of the World Coastal Rowing Championships and Beach Sprints in Saundersfoot later this year with an ambition to truly make coastal rowing available to everyone.

In a world where my visits to the coast are prompted by the ability to hire a stand-up paddleboard, surfboard or sea kayak – wouldn’t it be great if rowing was equally visible and supported by local clubs and businesses up and down the nation’s coastline? That said, I know rowing is incredibly well-supported where it is available and so we already have great examples of what can be done. There is even a rumour that I might get my first taste of coastal rowing on a visit to Southampton in a few weeks time, but the less said and certainly footage seen of that, the better!

We have seen some fantastic events and regattas take place in the last few months with the teams of volunteers, umpires and events staff working tirelessly to stage great experiences for the rowers and crews (those great people again). With many great events still to come – from the 91ÌÒÉ« Masters Championships staged last weekend and next BROC through to the 91ÌÒÉ« Junior Championships in the coming weeks, plus the Home International Regatta, rowing will continue to be in the spotlight in the months ahead. This Friday I will experience my first Women’s Henley which I am looking forward to and, shortly after that, Henley Royal Regatta which will be my first visit there too in a number of years.

The GB Rowing Team have also made a great start to the summer season with some fantastic performances at the International Para-Rowing Regatta, the European U19s and World Cup I in Belgrade. The busy summer ahead includes World Cup III, the U19/U23 Worlds, European Rowing Championships and Senior Worlds, plus of course the World Rowing Coastal Championships which is being hosted at Saundersfoot in October.

We know there will continue to be many more exciting performances to follow. But what’s even better is the positive feeling that I get when I visit Caversham. Louise Kingsley and the team have come together so well with energy and focus to get the programme moving in the shortened cycle towards the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Finally – and I appreciate it’s been a bit of a long one – I have also taken this time to consider the shape and size of 91ÌÒɫ’s organisational structure and we are in the process of making some changes to the team. This should help ensure that we are focused on keeping everyone as safe and as supported in our sport as is possible, whilst also working and supporting the community to continue to deliver broader and greater experiences to people just like the ones I saw in the North West late last week.

I look forward to seeing many more regions and clubs soon.

Happy rowing,

Alastair
91ÌÒÉ« CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – June 2022 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

As the 1st April marked my first official day in the role I am delighted to be writing to you all for the first time as the permanent Chief Executive of 91ÌÒÉ«.

It is an absolute privilege to be given the opportunity to work with the Board, the executive colleagues and above all the rowing community on an ongoing basis as we look to build the strength of rowing and grow the sport in the years to come.

In my short time in the sport I have already seen some of the benefits it can bring, how it can bring communities of like-minded people together and help share their love of being out on the water with others like them or perhaps those who haven’t quite got the bug yet, but are keen to give it a go.

Above all, when I have gone out to meet with clubs and volunteers, the welcome I have received has been genuinely warm, open, inquisitive (sometimes challenging too), but it has ultimately made me feel like I belong. As we work together to invite more people into experiencing the sport, this gives me a huge amount of confidence that that they too will receive the same great experience that I have done – the type of experience that will keep them coming back time and time again and they’ll maybe be even tell their friends too (to use a Walt Disney-ism).

I really do believe we have all of the ingredients in place to be a united rowing community across Britain that serves existing and would-be rowers up and down the nation’s waterways, coastlines, in gyms or at home with the experiences they want in whatever way they want, and to whatever level they can achieve.

So what can you expect of me in the immediate future?

Firstly, I am still learning the intricacies of the sport, so I would like to continue to come out and visit those clubs that will have me each month to hear first-hand the challenges you face and how we can help. If you are keen to host me for a day then please do get in touch and we’ll try to find some time for that to happen in the year ahead.

With the new racing season starting in earnest there are some great regattas coming up thick and fast across the country, some of which I hope to get to with the JIRR and BUCS Regatta also coming up at the end of the month. This weekend I am looking forward to seeing many of our GB Rowing Team athletes in action for the first team trials of the year, having already seen some great performances across the Para Team and beach sprints trials in the last few weeks.

Secondly, we have already been working with the 91ÌÒÉ« Sport Committee to focus on key priorities in the year ahead, and beyond, as we deliver on our Everyone’s Rowing strategy. It is clear that supporting our coaches and volunteers with appropriate education and help at every level and stage is critical to the strength of clubs across Britain. As such, we have plans to try and address capacity and capability in clubs that want to work with us to try and grow, and get more people out on the water. Supported by great people facilitating those opportunities, be it through appropriate coaching or officiating on the river, sea or indoors.

The new Rower Development Guide platform, for example, launched this week and is something that we hope can provide a really useful tool and framework to support coaches and rowers develop athletically and technically, but, as always, your feedback as to what else is needed and how we can improve that support is always welcome.

We also want to hear from you to share the stories of your successes and what life is like in your club and community. We will continue to help share your experiences through our webinar series with the next on club membership on 28 April. We are still looking for stories to highlight each month through our Down my Club series, so please do get in touch if you have a story you want to tell.

With the Masters training tips series continuing to gain a great following each week, a new more flexible membership offer is being developed as well as plans to try and encourage more recreational racing and there is some exciting work with the coastal community all in the offing, not to mention the in Saundersfoot later this year, there are some exciting times ahead.

For those who want to row for good causes The Big Row campaign from our charitable partners Love Rowing is back from 1-30 May and we’re calling on all rowers – young or old, indoor or on-water, experienced or new – to come together to help us row around the circumference of the world – 40,075km! Choose your own challenge and then use it to raise funds through sponsorship using your personalised fundraising page and help more  people experience the benefits of rowing, by either supporting current inclusive rowing projects or enabling new ones to get off the ground.

To close, whilst there is a huge amount to look forward to with rowing in Britain we must continue to take time to spare a thought for the members of the Ukrainian rowing community and the Ukrainian people as the atrocious war in Ukraine continues. So many clubs are doing their bit to raise much-needed funds to support them which has been great to see and thank you for showing what this sport can achieve when it works together towards a common goal.

I look forward to working with you all

Alastair Marks
91ÌÒÉ« CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – April 2022 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

Since joining 91ÌÒÉ« in early November I have been busy meeting clubs and colleagues to see what matters most to people as we move towards the new year. One thing is very clear to me – I have been struck by the immense passion and drive of the rowing community, many of whom give their spare time as volunteers in our sport. As a volunteer myself – a level one qualified football coach – and someone from a sports-mad household, I know just how much commitment it takes, so I’m delighted that we will be acknowledging many of these contributions in our annual 91ÌÒÉ« Awards. We’ve announced the shortlist recently and will be revealing our winners on 20 January.

I will be interim CEO until the end of March and, while I’m here, my main focus will be to kick-start the implementation of our updated strategy through to 2024 which is called ‘Rowing: Everyone’s Sport’.

Some of you may have joined the three open video calls with our Chair, Mark Davies, and myself, where we discussed key strands of this strategy and sought your views on these proposals. The topics focused on competitions, clubs and membership as well as coaching and volunteering. It has been fascinating to hear the thoughts of so many members of the rowing community – thank you for taking time to share your ideas and feedback. There are many learning points for us to take forward as we finalise our strategy and plans. We aim to continue holding sessions like this in the future, so please keep an eye out for more news on those.

It is clear that making our sport as accessible as possible in all contexts is really important from catering for all levels of recreational to masters rowers through to opening up our clubs to schools in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country. I am lucky to have had a broad range of experiences across different sports, but one that I am particularly passionate about is my involvement in a small charity called Tennis For Free (TFF). This charity uses tennis as a vehicle to reach disadvantaged communities and engage them in sport. As with rowing, we are looking to open up tennis to communities that don’t traditionally access sport, so that they can enjoy the benefits and sheer fun of taking part and getting fitter too.

I have found my first full month here energising and full of hope for a bright future. We recently had some great news from Sport England when they confirmed another year of funding in principle, so this promises to be a fantastic start to the new year.

I also had the privilege of being with the UK Sport Tokyo review panel, together with members of our GB Rowing high-performance team, which was a phenomenal introduction to the sport, and I was incredibly proud to meet such a talented group of people. This has also resulted in our award funding being confirmed for the next four years including an increase in support for the GB Rowing Paralympic Team as we head towards Paris.

Looking ahead, there’s a huge number of opportunities to expand rowing and make it everyone’s sport. Growing membership levels and supporting our clubs after COVID-19 will be vital to our overall success.

I’m very much looking forward to visiting more clubs over the coming weeks to find out what we can do to be more useful and support our sport going forward.

In the meantime, I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy new year.

Alastair Marks
Interim CEO 91ÌÒÉ«

The post CEO Membership Column – December 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic rowing ended on a fantastic note with two golds as all our crews delivered the performances of their lives, defending both our Paralympic titles on the Sea Forest Waterway from 27-29 August. Congratulations to all the athletes, the coaches and support staff for making this possible in an extended Tokyo cycle that was far from easy.

The PR3 mixed coxed four of Ellen Buttrick, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ollie Stanhope, James Fox and cox Erin Kennedy were dominant, winning their A final by an incredible 10 seconds. James has written of his time racing at the Paralympics, included in our September newsletter, and it’s a very insightful read.

In the PR2 mixed double Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley showed their class, coming back from behind to take gold in style. After only taking up rowing two years ago, PR1 single sculler Benjamin Pritchard delivered strong performances, qualifying for the final in the repechage. Finishing with a fifth place in the A final, it’s great to see that Benjamin is already looking forward to racing at Paris in three years’ time.

Last weekend, nine GB crews competed in the European Rowing Under 23 Championships at Kruszwica, Poland. In their best-ever result at U23 level, 21 of the 30 GB rowers racing came home with a medal with our crews winning two golds, one silver and two bronzes.

The team is predominantly made up of young athletes and coaches competing in their first international championships and the European Rowing Under 23 Championships provides a chance for them to make their mark ahead of the next season.

Moving from on-water rowing to indoors and this coming weekend nearly 1,000 competitors will put their own training to the test in the asensei 91ÌÒÉ« Virtual Championships (BRVC) on Saturday 11 September.

For those who can’t access the live racing, there is also an all-inclusive BRVC online League which is open until 12 September

So, with Tokyo 2020 now over and with autumn in the air, a new season of rowing beckons as we look forward to head racing at clubs around the country. For the latest on competitions, please take a look at our online calendar here.

Finally, if your club is welcoming new rowers over the next few weeks then our ‘’ website is a great starting point for all those wishing to get involved in our wonderful sport.

All the best for the new season!

Andy Parkinson
CEO 91ÌÒÉ«

The post CEO Membership Column – September 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

It’s hard to believe that the Tokyo Olympic Regatta is finally over, after being postponed for a year because of the pandemic. It was a tough six days of competition – compressed from eight days because of an inbound typhoon in Tokyo. With rough conditions on the water and fierce racing from the world’s top crews, our GB rowers pushed themselves to the limit, producing their best performances that they – and we – can all be very proud of.

Eight of our ten crews made the A finals – equalled only by the Dutch. Racing was hard-fought with many tight battles to the line, resulting in six GB crews finishing in fourth – agonisingly close to a podium finish.

There were historic moments with the first Olympic medal for a British quad when they won a brilliant silver. Vicky Thornley, too, put everything on the water to earn a best-ever result for a GB female single sculler, finishing her A final in fourth place. The final day of the regatta ended with the GB men’s eight powering home to snatch Olympic bronze.

We have a young squad, brimming with talent and the vast majority were experiencing an Olympic Games for the first time at Tokyo 2020. If you’d like to find out more about the journeys of some of the athletes, then I’d highly recommend watching our three-part documentary, The Road to Tokyo. It makes for riveting viewing, providing a rare window into the highs and lows of rowing at elite level.

Looking ahead, our Olympic rowers will be able to take away the lessons from competing on the world stage. With Paris 2024 qualification only two years away, I am excited about the future of our group of young and hugely talented athletes and coaches.

You can hear our Performance Director Brendan Purcell’s reflections from the Games in a special edition of the Debrief later this week, so make sure you check our social media for details. Also, do make sure to read our Chair’s views on the Games which we published last Friday.

But before this, we have the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to look forward to, with the rowing taking place on the Sea Forest Waterway from 27-29 August. Eight rowers, including three reigning Paralympic champions and five Paralympic debutants, have been selected to compete for ParalympicsGB. The mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+) and the mixed double scull (PR2 Mix 2x) will be defending their Paralympic titles from Rio five years ago. Benjamin Pritchard will represent GB in the men’s single scull (PR1 M1x) after making his international debut just two years ago.

Back in the UK, we have launched a for people interested in finding out about our sport – please do share this link with any prospective new members at your club!

Finally, the government has relaxed restrictions around COVID-19 guidance, so we have updated our current guidelines to reflect this.

Have a good summer and enjoy your own rowing on the water.

Andy Parkinson
CEO 91ÌÒÉ«

The post CEO Membership Column – August 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

Tokyo 2020 is finally almost here. After a year’s delay, the Olympics are just round the corner and our athletes, coaches and support staff will be on their way to Tokyo shortly.

Our Olympic team was officially announced on 9 June by the British Olympic Association, with 45 rowers representing Team GB in Japan. We wish all ten crews – athletes, spares and coaches – the very best of luck as they finally have the chance to put all their hard work over the last few months to the test against the world’s best at the Sea Forest Waterway.

On 25 June, it was the turn of our Para-rowers to be selected with ParalympicsGB naming the team for Tokyo. Our eight Para-rowers include three reigning Paralympic champions and five athletes who are selected for the first time for the Games which begin on Tuesday 24 August.

The U23 team was also announced on 1 July with the U23 World Rowing Championships hosted by the Czech village of Racice later this month. Our U23 athletes have not had a chance to race for nearly two years, so it’s great to see this important first step towards international competition. I would also like to recognise the rowers who were selected for this squad, but who, due to COVID-19 policies, will not be able to attend. This is no fault of their own and I look forward to seeing them in GB vests in the future. It’s an important reminder to our whole community of the need to remain vigilant against COVID-19.

Congratulations to all athletes who have been selected to represent Great Britain at these regattas.

It was fantastic to see the first physical 91ÌÒÉ« Championship event since late 2019 take place last month

At international junior level, we have made the decision to withdraw the team from both the World Rowing Junior Championships and the Coupe de la Jeunesse. This is because current guidance from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and UK Sport only provides dispensation for elite athletes travelling to Tokyo 2020 or preparing for the Paris 2024 cycle. Again it’s an incredibly unfortunate situation and I’d like to recognise the achievement of the rowers who have trained hard to be selected and look forward to them racing for Great Britain in the future.

Moving to domestic competitions, it was fantastic to see the first physical 91ÌÒÉ« Championship event since late 2019 take place last month. Held in Nottingham, the 91ÌÒÉ« Masters Championships took place in glorious sunshine, with a significantly reduced entry, and over one day.

This event is always so enjoyable – the feel is friendly yet competitive and this year was no different. It was clear that many of our members love the opportunity to test themselves and, after the year we have had, the smiles were ever present as everyone had a taste of some sort of normality. Thanks to everyone who helped make the weekend such a success.

The weekend of 16-18 July is set to be a racing extravaganza with the 91ÌÒÉ« Junior Championships taking place in Nottingham while the 91ÌÒÉ« Offshore Championships and Beach Sprints are being held over the same weekend in picturesque Exmouth. Good luck to all taking part and thanks to everyone who is volunteering.

At community level, the new annual fundraiser from the Love Rowing foundation – the Big Row – took place last week and it was great to see rugby legends Lawrence Dallaglio and Martin Bayfield getting involved. The initiative encourages clubs, teams and individuals to take on a rowing challenge to help raise funds to support inclusive rowing programmes, so more people can enjoy the benefits of our wonderful sport.

A week before, we also launched Go Row Indoor Schools, a free, online platform with a library of resources to give teachers everything they need to teach indoor rowing. The aim is to make it easy for state schools to offer indoor rowing as part of the national curriculum, by providing fun activities and workouts, as well as promoting good physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, our series of Club Guides continue to be rolled out to support the rowing community with the latest edition containing advice on developing adaptive rowing at your club. We have also released a guide called Time for Tokyo designed to help signpost clubs to all the relevant guidance as they prepare for rowing being in the shop window in Tokyo. There are other Club Guides in the pipeline – look out for a Club Development Guide coming soon too.

Earlier in the month, we published some minor amendments to our COVID-19 guidance here following the delay to the easing of current restrictions. The focus is on ensuring that affiliated competitions have all the necessary information to put on safe racing.

Finally, it was fantastic to see rowers recognised in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Many congratulations to Kate O’Sullivan, 91ÌÒÉ« Deputy Chair, and Anne Hock on receiving a British Empire Medal. There are many volunteers up and down the country and without your efforts, rowing just wouldn’t happen. Thanks to everyone who gives their spare time to support the sport at every level. We really do appreciate the efforts of each one of our amazing volunteers.

Andy Parkinson
91ÌÒÉ« CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – July 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

June spotlights our volunteers and coaches with last week and held from 7-13 June. It’s the perfect time to pay tribute to the many volunteers and coaches across our sport – at your own club and at clubs around the country.

As mentioned last month, I’ve been totally blown away by the commitment of so many of our volunteers over the past year. With ever-changing COVID guidelines, it’s not been easy to always adjust, and we are extremely fortunate to have such a great team of people across the grassroots of our sport.

Of course, many volunteers are also coaches. For most people, their first contact at a club may well be a coach and memories of being inspired by their first coach can stay with them years later.

In an Olympic and Paralympic year, we hope that more people than ever will be motivated to try rowing and coaches will be a key part of their experience of our sport. As we build into the summer we’ll be providing a range of tools and advice to support clubs and volunteers, aiming to inspire as many people as possible. Look out on the website for more details.

Staying with elite sport, in their last international regatta before Tokyo, GB rowers delivered outstanding performances last month at World Cup II, topping  the medal table with three gold, one silver and one bronze medals at Lucerne, Switzerland. A few days before, four of our boats had competed for final Olympic qualification places, but sadly just missed out, despite performing their best on the Rotsee.

More recently, at last weekend’s World Cup III, our young ‘Project Paris’ squad showed that the future looks bright as they performed impressively, collecting two silver and three bronze medals against senior competition.

At club level, the first national on-water competition of the year – and remarkably the first since the 91ÌÒÉ« Junior Championships in July 2019 and the 91ÌÒÉ« Beach Sprints in August 2019 – will be taking place at Nottingham on Saturday 12 June. The 91ÌÒÉ« Masters Championships is a one-day competition and is set to be a welcome celebration for our vibrant and committed masters community.

Later in the month, there is a chance for everyone of all ages to participate in The Big Row, taking place from 28 June to 4 July. The Big Row is the new annual fundraiser from Love Rowing (the 91ÌÒÉ« Charitable Foundation) and will raise funds to help share the fantastic benefits of rowing with more people around the country.

After a successful launch on 19 May, we are calling on all rowers and clubs to help us row as many metres as possible during the week of The Big Row.

Finally, it’s great to see that the sport is opening up more as COVID-19 restrictions and Government guidance allows.

Enjoy your rowing on and off the water!

Andy Parkinson
91ÌÒÉ« CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – June 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

On 29 March lockdown 3 finally came to an end and for the first time in a long time, we will be able to enjoy rowing on the water. While we realise that everyone is keen to enjoy their local river or waterway, please do take the time to check our latest guidance about restrictions here. You will also find support and advice to help you get your clubhouse up and running again in a safe and responsible way.

As members return to clubs, don’t forget that our administrative database, ClubHub, is there to help with tasks and reduce paperwork, as shows.

We talk to rowers from Northwich, Thames and Norwich and find out how ClubHub is streamlining their management, membership and financial processes and freeing up their time, so that they can enjoy being back on the water.

Look out too for a series of new Club Guides with the first two Guides on club management and club governance – you can download them here. Look out for more topics soon.

As the sport returns to the water, we are also delighted to announce our intention to run the 91ÌÒÉ« Masters Championships on 12 June, subject to COVID-19 restrictions. The competition will be a one-day championship at Nottingham’s National Water Sports Centre and a chance to rekindle those rivalries so book your crew here.

With local club competitions in mind, we have published a revised 2021 events calendar in a format that makes it easier to check when competitions are scheduled. This is to make it simpler for event organisers to plan ahead and see which other competitions are happening in their region. Obviously, this is subject to current government guidance on COVID-19, but we and the competition organisers are doing everything to make your return to competition simple, safe and with as much choice as possible given the limited opportunities of late. Find out more here.

On the international stage, the European Rowing Championships is scheduled for next weekend, 9-11 April, in the Italian city of Varese. After not racing for 20 months, our GB rowers will be itching to put their training to the test. Find out more about the team here. This weekend is an important milestone on the road to Tokyo and you’ll be able to follow the action on the BBC. Look out also for our coverage on our social media channels.

With our sport being thrust into the global spotlight later in the year, the build-up to the Olympics and Paralympics presents a fantastic opportunity for clubs to promote rowing within the local communities. We are working through what support we can provide to clubs to maximise this period and would love to hear any ideas that your club has in mind, so please drop us a line here. It would be great to use this summer to encourage both new and existing rowers back to our clubs.

Thank you for supporting the rowing community by being a 91ÌÒÉ« member during this unprecedented time. Your membership really does help us to support our clubs and the grassroots of our sport.

Finally, enjoy your rowing on the water!

Andy Parkinson
91ÌÒÉ« CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – April 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

There’s a feeling of Groundhog Day as the third national lockdown gets underway this new year. Once again COVID-19 restrictions mean that unfortunately rowing clubs have to close. We’ve all been here before, but clubs can double check our guidance in our latest Managing COVID-19 document here. We know it’s going to be a difficult period for everyone and so we’re putting in place a range of things to keep you active and support clubs throughout this third lockdown. Keep an eye across our channels over the next few days and weeks.

In the meantime, some of you might be lucky enough to have a rowing machine and so can still row indoors. If this is you then be sure to join ROW31, our free daily workout schedule to keep you fit throughout January. With land-based workouts too for all abilities, ROW31 is for everyone and is a great way to stay motivated over the next month. We’ve created a ROW31 Facebook group so you can be part of a supportive community of like-minded people for extra momentum.

The recent 91ÌÒÉ« Awards was a timely reminder of the importance of community in rowing. During the week between Christmas and new year, we spotlighted our volunteers and coaches who were honoured at the 91ÌÒÉ« Awards and each received their awards in person albeit virtually.

Of course, we would rather have held the awards in person, as originally planned, but even so it was a fitting end to the year and gratifying to see the many congratulatory comments on Twitter and Facebook when each winner was announced. Congratulations to all our winners and nominees who give so much of their time to our sport. The rowing landscape would look very different without each of your efforts.

You can see all the awards here, as well as watching a special new year message from our Chair Mark Davies.

Another long-standing volunteer – Albert Scruby, 78, from Lea Rowing Club – was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to rowing in the 2021 New Year Honours list. Albert has been coaching juniors at Lea for 50 years, so it’s fantastic to see his dedication acknowledged publicly with this prestigious award. You can read more here.

Over the last year, many people in our rowing community have worked hard to keep their club membership connected and this is more important now than ever. It is only thanks to your ongoing support as a member, that we’ve been able to provide advice to help clubs navigate the ever-changing government guidance as it’s released.

I know many of you may be coming to the end of your current membership and so if you are able and you have valued the guidance and support we’ve provided clubs over the last few months, please do renew your membership even during this lockdown. Every part of your membership fee is invested into supporting our sport and allows us to protect it for generations to come.

A new year also brings an opportunity to focus on different things, it’s a time to reset our goals and perhaps look beyond the current pandemic and plan for the brighter months ahead.

Though we are in lockdown again, it’s also the start of an Olympic and Paralympic year (again) – and our GB rowers are focused on Tokyo as the six-month countdown to both Games nears.

Closer to home, while the next few weeks will undoubtedly be tough, there is light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccines begin their mass roll-out.

In the meantime, stay well and safe!

Wishing you all the very best for the coming year.

Andy

The post CEO Membership Column – January 2021 appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

As the year comes to a close, I’d like to thank all the rowing community for their support over the last few months during the pandemic.

We are particularly grateful for the efforts of all the volunteers who have worked hard to ensure that their clubs and competitions are following the Government guidelines, swiftly adjusting to the latest COVID-19 advice when necessary in order to keep their members as safe as possible. I know that our members across the country are extremely grateful for all your efforts.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has renewed their membership this year. Without the support of our members, we wouldn’t be able to provide the guidance, support and emergency funding that we have been able to offer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial situation for the medium term remains uncertain and the support of you, our members, is critical to our plans in 2021 and beyond.

Later this month, we will belatedly be celebrating some of our volunteers and coaches after the 91ÌÒÉ« Awards dinner had to be cancelled, so please do keep a look out for this on our social media channels. There are some great stories and an illustration of the sort of commitment out there in our local communities.

Staying with COVID-19, there was good news last month when the Government announced their plans for how local restrictions will be managed going forward post-lockdown in England.

We were delighted to confirm that the legislation allows for on-water rowing in crew boats to continue in all tiers and as clubs prepare to welcome members back to the water, we published our Managing COVID-19 guidance (previously entitled Return to Rowing guidance) to set out what each tier means for rowing, given the information published to date. If you haven’t seen this already, you can find it here.

The guidance is designed to be easy to read and applied to the whole rowing community (including coastal, fixed seat and indoor rowers) who may all be in different tiers with specific local restrictions in their areas. Importantly, it is also designed to be adapted and revised quickly, subject to the Government’s view and any upcoming changes.

Now we are able to row on the water again, we’re also exploring ways in which we can support those members who are keen to get back racing – the excitement of competition is clearly an important part of the sport. Last week, we announced an initiative to help get more local competition up and running, making it easier for clubs to organise Private Matches.

We are also continuing to explore ways to help get more Affiliated Competitions back up and running as well as helping our volunteer competition organisers as they look at what sort of racing might be possible to organise within the travel restrictions.

Moving indoors, many of you might have taken part in BRIC Online last weekend. With 2,520 entries from 42 countries, the Championships was a huge success and a great way to wrap up the year-end with so many of the rowing community taking part.

In a weekend of high-quality racing, provisional records include no less than six new British records, four world records and 10 new championship records in the adaptive rowing categories. Thanks to all involved – particularly the competitors, spectators and many volunteers whose hard graft behind the scenes enabled it all to happen.

A BRIC Online League was also offered, providing another way for indoor rowers worldwide to get involved.

As we head towards another year, there is some light in the tunnel, thanks to the extraordinary dedication of the world’s scientists. With luck, society will be able to gradually return to some sort of normal as we approach the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Paralympics in the summer.

The pandemic has restricted our life in many different ways, but it has also reinforced the value of sport. Over the last few months, rowing has shown the role it can play in helping keep people fit and connected to their natural environment whilst also helping foster a real community spirit.

Enjoy your time back out rowing.

Wishing you and your family a happy and safe Christmas and here’s to a better 2021!.

Andy

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