A new rowing club is defying the elitist image of a sport long associated with privilege. Samantha Laurie casts off for Fulham Reach Boat Club...
In two months’ time, some 300,000 people – many of them young – will converge on one of the choppiest and murkiest stretches of the Thames to watch an 18-minute boat race between two elite university crews. But how many of those youthful spectators will have experienced for themselves the thrill of being under oar? Aside from those who attend private school, the answer is virtually none.
Of the 100 schools registered to row in the UK, no fewer than 80% are independent. For a sport historically linked to working men – modern racing began with apprentice boatmen running wager races across the river – it’s a sorry situation.
Now, however, a new community rowing scheme is ruffling the surface of the Thames, breaking down entry barriers in ways never previously seen. Fulham Reach Boat Club (FRBC) was set up four years ago with funding from both the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and St George, developer of the £1 billion luxury housing project beneath which the club resides.
Last year, FRBC rolled out free learn-to-row courses for all 12 state schools in the borough (plus three more), getting 1,200 kids onto the water and introducing children from some of the poorest socio-economic groups – including pupils of Kensington Aldridge Academy, at the base of Grenfell Tower – to the sport. As a result, seven schools have acquired sustainable rowing clubs. FRBC now aims to create one at every school bordering the Boat Race course – some 52 of them across four boroughs.
At the helm is CEO and former champion rower Steve O’Connor, who won three national titles during his career.
“When we started in 2014, only eight state schools were registered with British Rowing,” he reveals. “When you think that there are 4,000 secondary schools in the UK, that’s crazy.”
The explanation, of course, is that boats, facilities and coaches don’t come cheap, and cash-strapped schools need a good reason why even hugely subsidized courses – schools pay a small fee, pupils pay nothing – are worth the effort. O’Connor suggests four.
“Teamwork, focus, confidence and ambition: these are the off-water skills that lead to better behaviour and improved academic performance,” he says.
“Rowing is the ultimate team sport. In football, one person could score a goal and another stand there watching and they’d both win. In rowing, if one of you backs off, you all lose. Rowers tend to be high achievers academically – perhaps because if you put the effort in, you get results out. That’s a great lesson in life.”
Mission control for FRBC’s team of 20 is a swish, glass-fronted boathouse with a 23-strong fleet, including a couple of top-of-the-range Empachers. Significantly, photos of all the rowers line the walls.
“In this borough, 55% of kids suffer social and economic deprivation – very few have any experience of high-quality competitive sport or have seen their picture up on the wall of a sports club.”
Many are also wary of new challenges, nervous about getting onto the pontoon.
“It’s a big responsibility to put them in charge of a £6,000 boat in the middle of the tidal Thames,” admits Steve. “But working together in what they perceive as treacherous conditions have a remarkable effect on behaviour.”
Indeed, 80% of pupils want to continue rowing after the initial course. Facilitating this, however, is a challenge: O’Connor hopes that more schools will incorporate rowing into PE lessons, thus reducing the after-school crunch on resources. But integral to FRBC’s bigger ambitions are partnerships with existing boat clubs.
“Many are little used during the day – they have sessions early mornings, evenings and weekends, and that might be it. There will always be those who say: ‘Oh no, we can’t risk the damage.’ But we can bring our own boats. It would be a great way for top rowing schools to demonstrate public benefit.”
Currently, 20% of FRBC’s new rowers go on to compete. This year, Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith has an entry at Henley Women’s Regatta, becoming the first FRBC school to attain the top competitive rungs. Individually, meanwhile, Schuyler Audley-Williams turned up as a shy, homeschooled 12-year-old. The club gave him free lessons and within months he’d set two British records on the indoor machines.
“Our mission is to unlock potential,” says Steve. “We want all those children who grow up on the river to be able to say that they know how it feels to be out there in a boat, dealing with the forces of nature and finding strengths they didn’t know they possessed.”
Where to learn:
As well as its schools programme, FRBC runs learn-to-row courses for adults and a five-day summer holiday course for juniors from Year 9-13.
No need to be a member to access the courses (term-time and holidays) at this Wandsworth Council-owned rowing facility. Juniors from 11 years +.
To join the 100-strong junior squad, sign up for one of the five-day courses run at Easter and through the summer holidays. Courses for ages 12-15.
With a host of Olympians to its name, this is one of the premier clubs in the UK. It runs a five-day learn-to-row course during school holidays for those aged 13 years and above. Everyone who completes it is invited to join the junior squad the following September.
