We were delighted to hear from Blair Halliday, the UK Managing Director of Gemini, the Principal Partner for The Boat Race 2022 to 2024 as well as welcome Jenny Stevenson and Ryan Morrison, founders of Rival Kit, our new Official Kit Partner, to The Boat Race family.
The evening was also an opportunity to showcase the seven projects who received funding as part of the Gemini Boat Race Bursary Scheme in 2021. The Gemini Boat Race Bursary Scheme supports the goal of The Boat Race Company to engage young people across the UK to help develop physical and mental well-being, alongside life and academic skills. The Gemini Boat Race Bursary Scheme aims to engage a new generation of potential rowers across a broader range of socio-economic backgrounds and build a bridge between sport and under-served communities.
The initial two bursary awards were made to Fulham Reach Boat Club and to London Youth Rowing. The Boat Race has had a long-standing relationship with both of these clubs and this funding will continue to support the fantastic work they are doing,
In September a further five projects were selected as the recipients of The Gemini Boat Race Bursary Fund and these were:
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Brixton Wings
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Behind Every Kick
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Ely College
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Firhill Youth Project and Community Sports Hub
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Warrington Youth Rowing
Representatives from the projects were invited to attend the Presidents’ Challenge and the audience heard from Jason a staff member at Ely College and Ava a beneficiary of Behind Every Kick about the impact of the work they do.
The next key event in The Boat Race 2022 season will be the Trial VIII races taking place over the Championship Course on Sunday 19 December (Oxford) and Monday 20 December (Cambridge). More details on how you can follow these races and the main event itself on Sunday 3 April 2022 will be available on the website and our other channels in the coming weeks.