Northumberland schoolchildren ‘Get Going, Get Rowing’

The young rowers – aged between 11 and 18 – travelled from across Northumberland for the final, which was organised by The Tony Blair Sports Foundation (TBSF) and held at Newcastle University Sport Centre.

‘I train at our lunchtime club in school,’ said Haydon Bridge High School’s Toby Robinson, winner of the Year 12 Heat. ‘Rowing is a hobby for me, and I love getting experience in competition. I hope to get to the National Finals.’

Winners of at Monday’s Northumberland Finals can now look forward to Get Going, Get Rowing Regional Finals in March, where they will be joined by other top junior indoor rowers from across the North East.

‘The students train in the gym two or three times a week, and are on the water once a week,’ said Queen Elizabeth High School RC’s Geoff Higgins. ‘They take the sport very seriously, and a lot of our students have aspirations to compete for Great Britain in the future!’

The next stop on the Get Going, Get Rowing pathway is the County Durham Final at Durham University on Thursday (8 December), with the Tees Valley final taking place on Tuesday 13 December at Teesside University.

TBSF has been working with British Rowing to use Indoor Rowing as a means of encouraging more children across the North East to get involved in regular sport.

Find out more at www.tonyblairsportsfoundation.org.