September 2021 saw a fresh start for the youth rowing projects as the cloud of covid started to evaporate.
Embarking on their 6th year in the scheme the Warrington Schools swiftly got back into the swing of things. The children were soon back on the river Mersey learning a new set of skills that would hopefully, enhance their lives further down the line. Two of our schools valued the scheme so highly that they opened it up to year 9 pupils whose previous opportunities had been compromised due to Covid.
Over in our Mersey branch, a new cohort of schools took part which included Clare Mount and Clifford Holroyd, both SEND specialist establishments. Meanwhile in Northwich, another new cohort began. These new schools included Sandbach Lodge, a unit that works with challenging pupils. We had the pleasure of hosting a group of Afghan Refugees. Needless to say, the language barrier presented some problems but the universal language of coaching brought smiles and laughter for all.
The year also included negotiations to start Greater Manchester Youth Rowing to be based at Agecroft Rowing Club. This exciting addition will begin in September 2022 and will aim to work with six local schools.
As a charity we were involved in a conference called Rocking the Boat, designed to encourage the development of further outreach rowing projects. In collaboration with Henley Royal Regatta Charitable Trust, London Youth Rowing and ourselves. It was a great success and the waves it created will be felt for years to come. Details can be found on the Henley Regatta website.
In addition, Liverpool John Moores University launched a study into the effectiveness of the Youth Rowing Project. They have been interviewing pupils, coaches, teachers and school principals with regularly over the last year. The first evidence of their results will be released in October 2022 at the second Rocking the Boat Conference.
Our competitions were back on the calendar after the havoc wreaked by the pandemic, with both indoor and outdoor events attracting large numbers of competitors. The Indoor Championships, based at Birchwood, saw almost 300 youngsters from 19 state schools taking part, including our 2 SEND schools.
Under normal circumstances we would have taken a team to the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships in London. This amazing event is organised by our good friends at London Youth Rowing (LYR). Sadly, they did not feel confident enough to stage the event given the shadow of Covid that was still lurking. They did though organise a virtual event that eventually attracted well over 7000 entries. All of our schools took part, with Padgate entering well over 100 pupils, and it was a great success. LYR also ran their indoor rowing league for schools anywhere in the world and it was good to see Padgate regularly in the top 3 schools.
The end of year regatta took place at Warrington Rowing Club with 19 schools taking part. The day itself was very busy, but the children thoroughly enjoyed it. It did highlight that we need to drastically re-think the event and plans are already under way for a different type of competition. At the regatta, we award the Roger Chicken Award for the school that has had the best performance during the year. The 2022 award went to North Liverpool Academy.