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For our Scottish focus we head up to Glasgow to the Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club. Over the past four years Clydesdale have worked with partners Active Schools and PEPASS, to establish the Glasgow City Schools – Rowing Programme. The programme has worked with over 14 secondary schools and engaged with over 250 young people in indoor rowing and 180 young people on water activity.
Rowing at Clydesdale is focused on empowerment and development. At the heart of the project is youth work and inclusion with a focus on enabling young people to achieve throughout the programme by building self-esteem and confidence, developing new skills and relationships within a positive group atmosphere. This ethos is evident within the junior squad, when asked their favourite things about rowing, the team and striving for improvement are common driving factors.
Like all of us, the rowers at Clydesdale are missing the river and NSR this weekend but share their fond #NSRMemories. Ewan Pringle remembers the crew chat and the energy and focus it gave him for the final, while Fraser Thomson says “I had a great time coxing at NSR. We did really well during our races. I am looking forward to being able to row there whenever we get the chance.”
Training is tough during the lockdown period, the young people at Clydesdale have been acknowledging the waning motivation since the cancellation of Regattas this summer. Emma Morrison has used training as a good way to build back fitness but Ewan says the thought of not racing at Nat Schools again is making it tricky to find motivation to train.
Despite the lack of Nat Schools there’s plenty to look forward to and getting back out onto the water with their team mates will be great for everyone at Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club.
- From Miki at Clydesdale
We'd love to hear a little more about the junior programme at the club, and the partnerships with local schools,
Our aim is to be a facilitator of experiences which empower people to discover and to develop programmes which create solutions addressing local needs. Working from this empowerment agenda, we look to have people of the community develop skills and knowledge to run their own projects, with support from the Community Learning and Development Officer and key volunteers. We will broaden networks and partnership opportunities that create pathways for continual development.
Working with our partners Active Schools and PEPASS, we are moving into our fourth year of our Glasgow City Schools – Rowing Programme in January 2020. In the past three years, we have worked with over 14 secondary schools. Over the past three years, we have engaged with over 250 young people in indoor rowing and 180 young people on water activity. There has been a mix of 50% boys and 50% girls.
At the heart of the project is youth work and inclusion with a focus on enabling young people to achieve throughout our programme:
Building self-esteem and self-confidence.
Developing their abilities in relationship management.
Creating learning opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge.
Encourage a positive group atmosphere.
Building the capacity of young people to consider risk, make reasonable decisions and when possible take control.
Develop a ‘world view’ which widens horizons and invites social commitments.
The Rowing Programme is a mixture of indoor rowing based in their school which then follows on to water activity at Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club.
We use individual, partner work and group work to develop and work towards the skills laid out above. The programme then culminates in a Glasgow City Schools Regatta on the River Clyde and indoor events in the West Boathouse to give the pupils a chance to tests their new skills and to celebrate all the young people’s achievements.
For more info contact Miki Lee Dale or Jack Burns: cldcoach@clydesdalearc.org.uk