Earlier this month, Cambridge University Boat Club teamed up with Ely College to host their 5th Annual Rowing Experience – a fun two-day event all about sport, working together, and discovering new opportunities along the lovely Ely waterfront.
More than 60 students from five local Meridian Trust schools – Ely College, Swavesey Village College, North Cambridge Academy, Martin Bacon Academy, and Northstowe Secondary College – joined in on the action. For many of them, it was their very first time trying rowing. The weather was great and the water calm, making it an ideal way to get started with the sport.
Thanks to awesome help from volunteers at the Isle of Ely Rowing Club, East Anglia Youth Rowing, and guest coaches Polly Shorrock and Claire Cooper – who are both rowing for Cambridge in this year’s Boat Race – students got stuck into loads of different rowing activities. They gave rowing machines a go, learned how to handle single sculls, and practiced teamwork in quads and eights. Every student had a chance to gain confidence and pick up new skills both on land and on the water.
The whole thing wrapped up with an exciting mini-regatta right by the CUBC and Isle of Ely boat houses. Here, students showed off what they’d picked up while cheering each other on in real rowing style.
But it wasn’t just about sport; these Rowing Experience Days also aim to open young people’s eyes to local chances in rowing. Meeting top athletes like Polly and Claire was a big deal for many kids-they saw that loving sports can totally go hand-in-hand with aiming high academically too-like studying at a world-class place such as Cambridge.
