Funding plea to help potential medallists
Aug 28 2008 by Richard Fletcher and Lorna Gangel, The Journal
Clash of views over rowers’ prospects
ROWING remained one of Britain’s strengths in Beijing, but coaches said more help was needed for youngsters in the North East.
Clubs in Chester-le-Street and Durham have had lots of interest since the British coxless fours put Australia to the sword in Beijing.
Yet the two clubs disagree as to whether the region’s top talent can be trained in the region.
Andrew Bryant, secretary of Chester-le- Street Rowing Club, said several rowers from the area had made it to the top, including his daughter Victoria, 21, who won three bronze medals at world championships.
He said: “We have the knowledge and facilities within the region.”
But Mark Bell, a coach at Durham Amateur Rowing Club, said unless parents could afford the time and money to take their children to London or Scotland, there were limited opportunities to train at the highest level.
Ian Thurlbeck, from Sport England, said the money from both the Government and the National Lottery was distributed taking into account what regional offices requested.
But Mr Bell said: “The biggest problem is the biggest nucleus of rowing clubs is in the London area.
“There was talk of building a lake in a disused quarry in Ashington. It would have given us somewhere better to train but it wouldn’t make a difference – it wouldn’t change where the GB squad trains.”
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Competition is no plain sailing for region’s hopefuls
WITH its many miles of coastline, the North East has many clubs with coaches capable of teaching young hopefuls.
The Royal Yachting Association’s “On Board” scheme also ensures that many children will be introduced to the sport at their schools.
But, as with other sports, the focus is on the south of England, which forces any promising child from the region to rely on parents having the time and money to take them if they are to make it to the top. Anyone trying to make it into the national squads must gain championship points in the Northern Zone and the competitions can be held anywhere in the North and down to the Midlands.
Liz King, from the RYA, said: “Sailing always suffers in the North East because most of the training events and the national regattas happen outside the North East.
“Getting people from the South East to travel up is like dragging their teeth out, yet for our youngsters to travel to Weymouth for the weekend is a 1,100-mile round trip. You have to be dedicated, but it’s very difficult to compete with a level playing field. That’s not to say they don’t do it, because they do.”
Mike Shipway from Tynemouth Sailing Club said: “There’s a very focused structure for youngsters who do show talent. They can go and see if they can get selected for the regional squads.
“If you go on from there to national level then a lot of that is down south. You can always do with more funding and certainly there are bigger and richer clubs in the south, but the structure is the same nationally.”
Page 3: Archery club can’t afford home premises
