Salford rowing club’s bid to make the sport accessible to inner-city youngsters

The Salford sports organisation wants to get people from a variety of backgrounds interesting in rowing.
Agecroft Rowing Club. Photo: Agecroft Rowing ClubAgecroft Rowing Club. Photo: Agecroft Rowing Club
Agecroft Rowing Club. Photo: Agecroft Rowing Club

A Salford rowing club is putting on a fun day to raise money for its ambitious efforts to make the sport more accessible to people from a wider range of backgrounds.

Agecroft Rowing Club is raising £30,000 to start an inner-city training programme for young people.

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The family event takes place in September and one impressive club member is tackling a back-breaking Centurion Challenge to contribute to the fund-raising efforts.

A family fun day

The Salford sports club – which celebrates its 160th anniversary this year – will host the Agecroft family Sunday Funday, as it is being called, on 12 September.

There will be a BBQ, a bouncy castle and a bar hosted by Salford brewery Seven Bro7hers, who will be serving a limited-edition IPA on tap.

Kids will also be able to take the water and enjoy a rowing taster session in play boats.

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The whole idea is to raise £30k for a programme to get more young people from across Greater Manchester involved in the sport.

The event takes place at the Watersports Centre at Salford Quays.

A Centurion Challenge

To mark the occasion, club member Robbie Macfarlane is taking on the ultimate ‘row for change’ challenge.

He will row 100km, equivalent to the distance from Salford Cathedral to York Minster.

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He will make his way up and down the River Irwell in a variety of boats before returning to dry land to do the final 2km on a rowing machine surrounded by supporters.

Robbie estimates the back-breaking physical challenge will take between 10 and 12 hours.

He is one of a number of people taking on the gruelling Centurion Challenge across the country on the day to support vital community projects.

Why is the club raising money?

A staple source of medals for Great Britain at the Olympics and Paralympics, rowing is nevertheless often perceived as a sport that is difficult to get into for people with modest financial means.

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School rowing is often associated with fee-paying private schools, with young people from non-elite schooling backgrounds not being introduced to the sport until they are adults at university, if they get the chance to try it out at all.

Agecroft Rowing Club is keen to change all this by introducing the sport to Greater Manchester schools and colleges.

It wants to raise £30,000 which will be used to buy equipment and set up a rowing programme for the city-region’s young people.

A personal mission for rower Robbie

Robbie, who is taking on the extraordinary 100km challenge, spoke of how he was introduced to the sport.

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The 40-year-old from South Manchester said: “Aged 13 I was fortunate enough to be introduced to rowing through my local school, with a non-fee paying rowing club run by volunteer coaches, who gave up thousands of hours of time to give children of any background the opportunity to take up the sport.

“Rowing has since been a major part of my life and I am forever grateful for that opportunity.

Robbie Macfarlane. Photo: Agecroft Rowing ClubRobbie Macfarlane. Photo: Agecroft Rowing Club
Robbie Macfarlane. Photo: Agecroft Rowing Club

“It is so important we reshape our thinking around a sport like rowing and make it more accessible to young people across the region.

“Manchester and Salford are cities full of untapped talent and potential, we strongly believe sport should be for everyone and not defined by your schooling or social circumstance.

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“We want to give kids the chance to get on the water and give rowing a try.”

Robbie rowed through to university and continues to compete at Masters level, picking up silverware in the recent National Championships and Henley Masters Regattas.

He called on local businesses to support the fund-raising effort and said he hoped people would come down to the quayside for the fun day to see what the sport is all about.

When is the event taking place and how do I get involved?

The fun day starts early on 12 September with Robbie’s oars hitting the water for the start of the Centurion Challenge at around 6.30am.

The event will finish at around 4pm.

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Businesses interested in contributing to the programme should contact James Harris by emailing [email protected]