Annie Vernon visits Penrice School
On Monday 24th November, Cornish bred Olympic silver medallist Annie Vernon visited Penrice School indoor rowing club in Cornwall.
The club, run by the ARA’s recently appointed HSCT coach, Rhiannon Halliday, and Charlestown Rowing Club has been established now for six weeks and is growing in popularity each week. Monday saw the largest number of rowers so far with 33 children aged 11-16.
Annie gave a talk to the aspiring rowers, recalling her Olympic experiences in Beijing and of course, the big race. She then answered questions fired at her about all aspects of her career, training and her pride in being Cornish. Dry Skills certificates were presented to club regulars who had completed the first step of the series.
Annie displayed her prowess on the rowing machine, giving a demonstration on good technique. Club members where then able to put their skills into practice on the ergos, with Annie giving them some valuable coaching tips.
The grand finale was a relay race, with four machines linked up to a screen and some competitive racing. Annie was watching throughout the race and presented four T-shirts to the rowers who had demonstrated good technique and potential throughout the afternoon. Later, Charlestown Rowing Club hosted an evening at St Austell brewery, with Annie being the guest of honour.
The visit was well received by all and Charlestown Rowing Club would like to thank Annie for her invaluable part in this opportunity to promote the sport. The indoor rowing sessions at Penrice School are proving to be a great success in fuelling the growth of the traditional sport of gig rowing.
If you would like to know more about the gig club, or gig rowing please visit http://www.charlestown.org.uk/
