Support Rowing for Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) Award is perhaps the most prestigious high profile award a British young person can aspire to. It requires a breadth of achievement in four sections: Service, Skills, Physical Recreation, and an Expedition. The sport of Rowing is an obvious outlet for “Physical Recreation”, but what a bit unsung and high impact is doing support rowing for disabled athletes as a “Service” activity.

Marlow RC has been the beneficiary of DoE support rowing for several years now and it has proven a huge contribution to the running of our adaptive rowing programme. Support rowing is critical for many impairments (visual impairment, learning disability, single-arm, epilepsy, severe weakness) as well as many situations (introductory training, extra safety requirement).

If you are looking for support rowers (or even general support with your adaptive rowing), talk to the junior coaches and get word out that any rower wanting to satisfy DoE requirements in an enjoyable way, then consider helping the adaptive squad. One might think that junior rowing training is often exhausting enough, but support rowing is often much lower exertion and more recreational and relaxed (so it can be a good wind down or a technique session which is all extra benefit to the junior’s own rowing).

Below are several testimonials from our DoE award winners:

• “Supporting adaptive rowing as part of my Duke of Edinburgh volunteering was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. I enjoyed it because it gave me the chance to give back to others in a meaningful way, while also learning myself. I was able to be coached and develop my own rowing at the same time as supporting other people and helping them enjoy being on the water, which made it feel like a real win-win. It matched the aims of Duke of Edinburgh closely because it combined service to the community with personal development, helping me build confidence, responsibility and teamwork. I would really encourage others to consider it because it is both rewarding and enjoyable, and you can see that your time is making a genuine difference.” – Martin Bignall
• “I have been volunteering with the Marlow Adaptive Rowing Squad for the past 18 months. I can highly recommend support rowing as a good option for the DofE volunteering section. It can be quite hard to find suitable activities under the age of 16. I did litter picking for my bronze award and was looking for something more team based for my silver award. I row to a fairly high level with my school and when my older cousin suggested that I support row for him this seemed to be a good plan. My cousin has mild cerebral palsy and ADHD. He took me along to meet the squad two summers ago and everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming. I supported him and other squad members training in the gym through the autumn and winter. Just as I had finished my 6 months it was warm enough to get back on the water. I carried on because it was nearly race season and I wanted to see the outcome of all the hard grind through the winter. We were fortunate enough to win a few medals which was very satisfying. I enjoy volunteering with the squad as there is a such a strong team spirit – everyone encourages each other and celebrates each achievement. This year I have carried on at gold level, working with other squad members with a variety of physical and neurological challenges. Capsize rescue training was a lot of fun. I’ve developed coaching skills and learnt that patience and encouragement often brings out the best in people. It has also helped my own rowing as Ive learnt to foot steer and sculling helps me to row both sides, plus I’ve learned more about how to balance boats and make them move. Support rowing contributes to the community, encourages team work and also offers the opportunity for personal development, meeting the DofE volunteering objectives in a really enjoyable and rewarding way.” – Alastair Gilles
• “I have volunteered with the Marlow Rowing Club adaptive squad for my Duke Of Edinburgh gold awards, which has found me a place within an incredible community. What I’ve done is row as a support rower with some adaptive athlete who would otherwise not be able to row by themselves. Personally, I find this awesome because I get to support and coach people and actively feel the difference I make – plus I made a load of new friends! The DofE award is designed to get people active, learning, and helping their community through the physical, volunteering and skill aspects you have to complete. This branch of volunteering combines them all as you’re volunteering to help others, you’re engaging in a physical activity as well as giving others an opportunity to do so with you, and you learn so much from the friends you make and these incredible people whom you’d otherwise never meet.” – Jonathan Wiegandt (see photo above)