Tees Rowing Club is one of the Clubs selected to deliver Project Oarsome - a scheme which aims to link 100 state schools with 50 rowing clubs to introduce rowing to young people and to find our future Olympians.
The photo above is of some of the £51,500 worth of equipment made available to Tees RC to run the scheme in return for our £13,000 investment. (Trailer, safety/coaching launch, 2 coxed quads, 2 double sculls, 2 single sculls, 3 virus single sculls. Not in photo are 4 Concept Indoor Rowing Machines, 16 pairs of sculling blades, 16 buoyancy aids, 6 throwlines and launch safety/rescue kit).
Project Oarsome the Amateur Rowing Association's investment in young people, state schools and rowing clubs is now in its fourth year. Around £2.5 million is being spent providing equipment, personnel, resources and training to give up to 30,000 young people the new opportunity to try out and enjoy rowing under the guidance of qualified coaches.
The aims of this lottery funded project are to provide local partnerships between 100 state schools and 50 ARA affiliated rowing clubs, whilst also providing the structure and resources for the development of volunteers to cope with the additional demand for skilled tuition.
By actively encouraging parents and teachers to become involved in getting these youngsters onto the water - from taking on administrative roles to becoming coaches themselves, the sport is developing into the communities. All the resources provided by the ARA guarantee high standards and ensure that everyone gets the best possible start to provide the best possible results.
Local club/school partnerships receive up to 75% of the cost of £55,000 worth of indoor rowing machines, boats, oars and safety equipment. The funding comes from the Lottery and from the Henley Stewards Charitable Trust.
Clubs must raise 25%, from their own resources and provide 6 coaches to the schools. Most achieve this with the assistance of their ARA Coaching and Development Officers who provide them with details of funding sources available to them.
Many young people who are less able at the standard school sports have been introduced to rowing and through this have discovered their worth, not only improving their confidence as athletes but also in the classroom. In one example an individual's written work has improved through the self-belief they developed from taking part in a new sport, requiring different skills to those used in recognised ball-sports.
The clubs and schools also benefit from improved media coverage as the programme provides them with rowing ambassadors from our successful GB squad, who will visit the school and interact with the youngsters.
Interest in Project Oarsome from affiliated clubs is immense, with approximately 80 clubs and 150 schools, from every part of England, seeking to take part, having identified the benefits to the development of rowing, the young people themselves and their local communities.
It is a national scheme, devised and co-ordinated by the ARA, to provide a structured programme to introduce rowing into selected state schools, through partnership with established Rowing clubs. The scheme has considerable finanacial support from the National Lottery and Henley Stewards charitable trust.
Blakeston School, Norton, Stockton-on-Tees and Acklam Grange School, Acklam, Middlesbrough.
Initially indoor rowing machines have ben delivered to both schools. Staff and pupils will be trained in their use and the participants then undertake the “Dry Start” Junior Rowing Programme, (which many Tees juniors have been doing led by Kate O’Sullivan), This involves learning about the Ergos, how to use them and undertaking age related “Target Tests”.
School staff also receive ARA Instructor Award Training in order to be able to supervise on water activities. Following completion of this they will come down to the RTWC, initially at the end of the school day, to begin the 6 session “Wet Start” programme – in this they are introduced to the various types of boat and taught how to scull via a progressive skills learning programme.
We must have at least 6 qualified coaches willing to help run the scheme. This is the minimum number to enable the workload to be evenly shared. There is also a valuable role to be played by all club members is providing general help and support. We are the hosts – our guests, the schools, are the potential future of rowing in general and Tees RC in particular.
We need to organise additional training sessions for Junior rowing - Project Oarsome and beyond – for those who wish to do more than their schools can offer and after their sessions have ended.
Tees RC have put in just over £13,000 towards the capital of the scheme. Most of this is from club funds, which will come from the sale of the old boathouse. As the sale has not yet been completed, a number of members have generously made interest free loans to enable us to commit to the scheme and to go ahead with the equipment purchases.
The equipment package, which is worth over £55,000 comprises:
And that’s not all – The Henley Stewards agreed to put up a further £5000 to support the Blakeston School “Sports College” bid, to buy more support resources and ergos, so that we can keep ergos at each school and the additional ergos at RTWC.
Yes – this equipment is available for the club to use, but bear in mind that much of it is only suitable for small juniors, the mostly design weights range from 55kg to 65kg. However, what better incentive to develop our existing and recruit new Juniors to TRC than modern kit such as this?
Yes – our contribution will increase but as explained below we will have the use of the equipment when it is not being used for the scheme. Also it is anticipated that the schools will pay the equivalent of Junior membership subscriptions for their participants (as happens at other clubs).
Ideally by putting yourself forward as a qualified coach or committing yourself to obtaining a coaching qualification which you can then use to assist as well as gain invaluable coaching experience. But perhaps most importantly by offering to be available to help when required.
Durham ARC, Hollingworth Lake RC, Bradford ARC and Doncaster RC are already taking part and have already helped with useful advice.
No, the main principle of the scheme is to bring state schools into the sport in a structured and supported way. However, if we as a club establish links with private schools to promote junior participation, the Project Oarsome equipment can be used by them when it is not in use by those directly involved in the scheme.
At the Junior Inter-regional Championships, held at Dorney Lake Eton on April 29th 2001, the Silver Medallists in the Women's Quadruple Double Scull at the Sydney Olympics presented a cheque for just over £4000 to children who are part of Project Oarsome, an element of the National Junior Rowing Programme.
Miriam and Guin Batten, Katherine Grainger and Gillian Lindsay became the first British women to win Olympic medals in rowing which earned them the cash award from Kellogg's Personal Bests Award Scheme.
They nominated Project Oarsome to receive the award. Pictured above at the presentation of the cheque is our own Suzie Francis (in the maroon Tees RC top) with the Olympians and other Junior representatives.