News

Posted: April 28, 2016

Inverness Rowing Club is the newest club to sign up to Project Rio as it stays on course to recruit more members and increase awareness for the sport in general.

Scottish Rowing’s Project Rio campaign aims to capitalise on rowing interest around this summer’s Olympic Games  and Inverness is exactly the type of resourceful and forward thinking club it wants to engage with.

“We had an uplift of interest after the 2012 London Games and we want to use the positivity that comes with the Rio Games to encourage more people to come to the club,” said Inverness Vice-Captain, Robert Gordon.

Inverness has the publicity advantage that this summer two of its members, Imogen Walsh and Alan Sinclair, hope to compete for Team GB in Rio.

And, on the back of the sport’s expected raised profile, club members know they need to be fully prepared to make their sport fully welcoming to newcomers.

“The biggest hook for newcomers is the welcoming atmosphere at a club and that first experience is what will encourage people to come back,” Robert explained.

“It’s all about how you are met and greeted and the vibe you pick up from the club. I believe our club has that.

“We have a group of coaches who are very willing to help with our Come and Try and Learn to Row sessions.

“But we are approaching this as a club responsibility with more people involved than simply coaches.

“So we will utilise our experienced rowers and our senior juniors that compete and have good technique. We have used them in the past for teaching adults and juniors and they are quite engaging and enjoy coaching.”

The club, which is based on the perfect rowing water of the Caledonian Canal, has a healthy membership of over 60 people, yet it is by no means full.  And it has ample facilities and resources to take a lot more people in.

Realising that it loses a lot of juniors at university age, the club has identified the University of Highlands and Islands as another source of rowers and will be meeting the university next week to develop plans.

“It’s the young 20 year olds that we tend to lose so we see engaging with UHI as a good means to developing and bringing in a similar age group,” Robert continued.

“To begin we will be provide facilities, coaching and equipment free of charge to the UHI students.”

Led by Scottish Rowing, Project Rio is a direct result of the surge in rowing interest following the London 2012 Olympic Games, when clubs across the country were inundated with newcomers wanting to learn to row.

Project Rio aims to help clubs maximise the interest around this summer’s Rio Games by being better prepared as well as taking a more proactive role within their communities.

Through Project Rio, Scottish Rowing will assist and support clubs with the resources they will need to get new participants on the water and to encourage them to make rowing a sport for life.