Introduction: Youth Sport in the UK
The Chief Medical Officer in England recommends that children engage in at least 60 minutes of activity every day. According to Sport England, there are currently seven million children aged five to 15 in England and more than half are not meeting the recommended daily amount of exercise.
The UK Government carried out The Active Lives Children and Young People’s Survey which published its latest findings in December 2022, showing that the proportion of children who are active in the UK has seen a 2.6% increase from the previous academic year, 2020/21. This rise is expected to have brought activity levels back in line with those of pre-pandemic levels where just 46.8% of the nation’s children and young people are meeting the recommended level.
Participation is on the rise not only across national sport but also within gig rowing.
Podium Places and Lucky Mascots
Currently, St Mary’s is the club with the highest participation of juniors across the circuit. We caught up with some athletes from their A and B crews at the Under 16 Championships, Jacob, Solly, Arlo and Oliver, who had just taken first and second place on the podium at the event.
“It’s great to look across the water at the other crew and know that we were going to take 1st and 2nd place. We train together and fill in for each other so we’re all very close and happy for each other’s accomplishments.”
Since first taking up gig rowing around the ages of 12/13, the crew train 2 – 3 times a week, increasing to 3 – 4 times in the few weeks before the Championships, easing off their training towards race day to, in their words, “keep their minds sharp and to avoid overexertion in the lead up”.
St Mary’s taking the win at the U16 Champs
The time put into training, refining their skills and finessing technique certainly plays a big part in their success this season and may be one of the contributing factors to the crew taking home trophies from both the U14 and U16 Championships this season.
Perhaps their success is also thanks to their crew mascots and superstitions that support their race preparation:
“We (St Mary’s A) have a Lego mascot and one of the crew has a pair of lucky shorts, whilst another puts his straps on upside down!”
With two of the crew preparing to head off to college in September having sat their GCSEs this year, they are keen to keep their training up, even if that involves switching to indoor rowing.
“We’ll try and get some practice in when we go to college, but we might have to stick to indoor rowing for now”
Many of the junior rowers in our community found their way into the sport through family or a friend who already enjoyed the sport, some first getting in a gig from as early as 8 years old. One person told us on Instagram that they were on holiday and watched the Under 14 Championships at the Copperhouse Pool in Hayle and were inspired to return home to find out how they could get involved. Now, mother and daughter both row for neighbouring clubs on the Dorset coast.
In terms of proud moments, there seem to be plenty – for one person, this was winning the Jurassic League twice in a row, or first entering into a regatta race. Some end in podium finishes at the age grade Championship events with their crews by their sides and as for future aspirations, competing at or winning at the World Pilot Gig Championships is up there.
Exposing the youth within the sport to opportunities to work together with their peers, to commit to training and dedicate time to perfecting technique has immeasurable benefits alongside those gained through community sport impacting a person’s social, mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Why They Love It
Many clubs offer up to three taster sessions or Learn to Row sessions for Under 18s to encourage them to try the sport. One of these clubs is Dart Gig Club whose Club Secretary, Peta Chivers, spends time in schools over winter encouraging juniors to join and posts flyers in school notice boards.
“We stress what fun it is and how good it is for body and soul!”
Dart Gig Club Flyer
It’s clearly having a positive effect, as the Dart Girls crew won the first place All Girls crew and came 9th overall at the Under 16 Championships this year up against mixed and all-boys crews. Flo, Emma, Lily, Neve, Romy and Mabel, who are an Under 15 crew, have been rowing together as a crew for over 3 years, they absolutely love it.
“It’s so worth it and the community is so good! All of the adults in our club are so supportive, very nice and friendly.”
Four out of the six in the crew complete 5 rowing sessions a week after school – a combination of gig rowing, land training and ‘another type of rowing’. They love the chance to travel for competitions at regattas/championships and that the sport isn’t expensive to get into. When asked what advice they would give to other juniors considering taking part, they said:
“Just do it – it’s the best! For the first few weeks you might hate it but just stick at it and then [we] guarantee you’ll love it.”
Dart Girls Crew
It’s inspiring to see that, thanks to the last few years of training and racing together, these girls have become a tight knit group. It has clearly also brought inspiration to their parents – one of which, Roz, told me that she joined the gig club after she saw her kids getting involved and quickly loving it.
Together with another parent, Fiona, they recognise that some parents could be apprehensive about their kids getting in the boats due to the scale of them, but to not be frightened and to allow them to get stuck in. They agree that all the sport can teach their kids, including the benefits of team work, is definitely worth it.
When asked how the sport has helped to develop their children, Fiona and Roz tell me “well, put it this way – they are down at the river before 8am in the rain and in the cold to train”.
We think that says it all!
Gig Rowing Junior Stats
Data collected in 2022 showed that 42% of CPGA clubs currently have junior representation, which increased by 8% from January to December in that year alone.
According to this data, at Under 14 level, this is split 54%/46% male/female and 47%/53% male/female at Under 16 level.
The CPGA’s 5-year strategy Our Community – Our Sport outlines the plans to develop the sport to grow junior participation and offers free GigRower membership for juniors under 18 to support this currently. The strategy also details further plans to invest in junior participation and plans to support the progression of this age category. The CPGA race categories for juniors are also based on school year from September 1st – August 31st, rather than date of birth, meaning that Juniors competing in CPGA Championships compete against others in their year group.
The CPGA will be holding a consultation session on the 22nd October at the Mountbatten Centre, Plymouth, during which juniors can connect with other rowers their age and share their ideas for how to shape the sport.
Ways you can get more juniors involved in your club
- Run free taster Sessions
- Learn to Row sessions aimed at Juniors
- Create flyers and post around local community/notice boards
- Chat to schools
- Discuss gig rowing as a social prescription with your local GP practice
- ‘Bring a friend’ social events
- Local junior competitions and events
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