Oxford and Cambridge squad members support Future Blues coaching session
Rowers from both Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs headed to Fulham Reach Boat Club for a fun land-based coaching session with pupils from Fulham Cross Girls’ School as part of the Future Blues programme. Launched in 2018, Future Blues is a year-round community outreach partnership in association with Fulham Reach Boat Club, to improve access to rowing across the four London boroughs that The Boat Race Championship Course passes through.
One of the crew members, Theo Weinberger (Cambridge), coached a six-girl team on the ergo and was more than happy to pass on his advice:
“I was so impressed by the girls today. You can see how they really got into the relay race by the end and that’s the fun of rowing. Having the opportunity to give something back on days like this is great for us. Rowing has been a huge part of my life and given me so many experiences, so it’s good to pass on some of my knowledge and hopefully they will get as much joy out of this sport as I have.”
Tracy Corbett, coach at Fulham Reach Boat Club commented: “The girl’s come down here every week, they do water and land-based sessions through the morning. But today was special and these fifty girls will benefit from the teamwork and then the added experience of meeting the crew members from both Universities. Learning from them really will have made their week.”
Suhar Mire, 15 was clearly excited by meeting the Cambridge and Oxford athletes: “Today was so much fun – they taught me new rowing techniques, how to cope with blisters and they made me see a future with rowing as a hobby and also how to balance it with my academics as well.”
Wala Awad, 15 added: “I have been rowing for two years but today was amazing – they taught me how to make my strokes longer, get my time shorter for races and we got an insight into their diets and how long they train for. I hope I continue to row and enjoy it as much as they do.”
To find out more about the Future Blues programmes and all the activity visit: www.fulhamreachboatclub.co.uk