The Swanage School (TSS), an Academy school for 11-16 year olds, and Swanage Sea Rowing Club (SSRC) have recently joined forces to make gig rowing more accessible to young people in the local community.
On the 13th of March TSS held their very first after school gig rowing club with the support of SSRC. 13 students got to grips with the basics of rowing, learning how to launch and recover a boat safely and practise their timing.
This initiative came about after SSRC member Dan Bennett contacted the school. In an effort to offer students the opportunity to experience an alternative sport and make the most of fantastic facilities in the local area, SSRC and TSS have worked hard to launch the after school club. Holly Brook, TSS teacher and keen gig rower commented,
“I was shocked at the number of students and staff who didn’t really know anything about this sport and felt it was an opportunity missed at the school that I could take advantage of. I was lucky here to have a very supportive Headteacher and PE department who have helped make these connections within the community and with the logistical side of things. So far, I am thrilled with the response we’ve had from students and parents as well as Swanage Sea Rowing Club and hope we are setting up a long-lasting relationship with the club and gig rowing partnerships with the school.”
Earlier this year, former chair of SSRC, Dan and junior coach Martin spent a week at TSS hosting a range of rowing based activities. Volunteers from the club, including some TSS alumni, held an assembly, put students through their paces on the rowing machines and led fitness challenges during PE lessons. SSRC even brought their gig ‘Old Harry’ into the school to show the students.
Photo credit: The Swanage School
The sight of Old Harry in the school atrium sparked a lot of interest. One TSS student explained,
“I tried gig rowing because when the gig club came to our school with the rowing machines, I got a turn on one of them and surprisingly I was really good at it so me and my friend thought we would give it a try and it was really fun to row in a boat.”
The staff at TSS also noticed the buzz throughout the school during SSRC’s visit, one teacher said,
“The students were really engaged in trying out the equipment, every time I walked through the atrium when they were in the workshops, there was a great bit of friendly competition going on, they all seemed to be having a blast – even those who maybe wouldn’t normally get as involved!”
Photo credit: The Swanage School
Maths teacher and gig rowing enthusiast Holly has been a driving force behind the initiative. Having never heard of the sport prior to moving to the Isles of Scilly in 2018, Holly started rowing while living and working on the islands. Now back on the mainland Holly said,
“I moved from Scilly to Dorset in August 2023. One of the main reasons I applied to schools in Dorset was the volume of gig clubs in the area (I’d only been here once and knew one person). When I moved, I joined Weymouth Gig Club and this has become a huge part of my life and has been one of the biggest ways I’ve met new people in Dorset.”
Parents have been thrilled with the school’s initiative, offering students the opportunity to try something new while improving their teamwork and social skills.
Head teacher of TSS, Jenny Maraspin told us,
“TSS hopes that by integrating the gig rowing into the curriculum students will have a sense of pride and belonging in their local community.”
Photo credit: The Swanage School
If the initiative proves successful, TSS hopes to encourage other clubs to make links with their local schools. Holly believes that gig rowing has lots to offer schools and their students:
“Rowing has a great community feel and is one of the only sports where it is 100% team effort. It teaches the students so many great life skills in teamwork, responsibility and communication. It also exposes them to people of different ages and backgrounds, opening them up to the world around them. It also has an incredibly beneficial effect on their mental and physical health being outside and on the water.”
Dan who had also played a significant role in the project explained, “They [the students] are outside in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, learning water-based activities, they are experiencing a sport that most other inland students don’t have the opportunity to do. When they go into further and higher education it will certainly provide them with an edge in interviews and give them something unique to talk about in their personal statements, that’s the icing on the cake.”
Preparations are in full swing for TSS to participate in the upcoming Swanage Carnival and there are future ambitions to enter Swanage Regatta later this season.
A huge well done to those who have worked to establish this junior program, it is proving an inspiring example of how clubs and schools can forge connections to share our amazing sport with more young people.
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