The Challenge

On the weekend of 18th September 2020, four members of Christ Church Boat Club will row from Oxford to Fulham in support of our partnership with Fulham Reach Boat Club. We will complete the 115mi/185km in a two rower skiff, with one person acting as coxswain and the fourth member providing support from the bank. The goal is to complete the journey within 2 days, aiming to finish by sundown on Saturday 19th September.

About Fulham Reach Boat Club

The vision for Fulham Reach Boat Club (FRBC) charity is a simple one, to unlock the potential of young people through rowing. We believe in a world that gives every young person fair access to the same opportunities, allowing them to realise their full potential. On the water, Fulham Reach's coaches use four key aspects of rowing that help develop future life skills:

Teamwork – Showing students how to work with others in a unique team environment and “pull together’’ in order to achieve a common goal, a lesson learned almost subliminally in rowing, the ultimate team sport

Focus – Teaching the students determination, perseverance and focus as they take part in a physically, mentally and technically demanding activity

Confidence – Having fun in a very different environment to that which they are used to, on a living river building resilience to deal with the forces of nature, and helping teenagers to escape from the everyday pressures facing them today

Ambition– Enabling students who previously considered themselves not-sporty (usually because they lack a talent for traditional ball games) to participate in a unique leisure activity and possibly discover an athleticism that they did not know they possessed.

FRBC will create a sustainable and successful rowing club in all 12 London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham state schools by 2021 and demonstrate the improvements in physiology, behaviour, social skills and academic results through participation. Once they have achieved this they will then open up the same opportunity to the students at all 52 state secondary schools which border the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race course. The overall outcome of their work will be to raise the life aspirations of every student that takes part in sessions.

In the academic year 2016/2017 the students were able to achieve:

1,000 Participants

8 Schools

57% Female participation

49% Black, Asian or Minority Ethnicity participation

81% Enjoyed the rowing course

80% Want to continue rowing

74% Have improved communication skills

84% Have improved team working skills

68% More interested in sport generally after completing our rowing course

For more information, please visit:

https://www.fulhamreachboatclub.co.uk/