My name is Millie Guida(on the left) and I am 15 years old. I am trying to raise funds to buy a boat, cover training, travel and trials.
I learnt to row in summer of 2015 a year after my dad lost his job. I was only trying to find something to do and I knew my holidays would be boring again!
I was donated three one hour sessions in Putney by a friend who loves rowing to get me interested in the sport. My coach after the first session said that he would have given me a scholarship if he could. Sadly I needed to find a club closer to where I lived. I ended up choosing Marlow Rowing Club and I was invited to trial for the Junior Development Squad. I asked my first coach if he would write me a reference to say that I had completed a Learn to Row course. He wrote me a glowing report that sadly I was too embarrassed to show when I went to trial. I knew nothing about the sport and thought my coach was just being nice. I was excited on the day and told that I would find out within 2 weeks if I had been successful. One then two then three weeks went by and so on. I was disappointed and my dad was trying to keep my spirits up and said that he would write to the club to find out. He received a strange reply. They were sorry but they had not allotted the coaches yet for my age group and therefore were not able to make me a meaningful offer! My dad said that was an odd way of phrasing it. I was over the moon to find out that not only had I been offered a place but I had jumped from the Junior Development Squad straight in to the Junior Team!
The reference my first coach had written said he believed that with training I would be winning races very quickly and I did just that in my first year. I rowed for the year above in the WJ15 Coxed Quad and won GOLD at the National Scullery. I then went on to win Bronze at the British Championships aged 14 rowing for the U15 age group.
I want to row for GB at the Junior Worlds and I will one day with your help!