Harnessing the power of rowing to change lives
Together with UK Sport and Sport England, we have launched a new programme to explore our organisational culture
We have launched a significant programme to explore our culture in depth, understand what truly matters to those connected to our organisation and our sport, and drive the necessary change for the future. Our success as a sport is underpinned by the entire rowing community. Athletes, coaches, umpires, volunteers, and supporters are all vital in ensuring anyone who engages with rowing can have a positive life-changing experience.
We believe that to enable our members, now and in the future, to enjoy the best possible experience, we must embed the highest standards of safeguarding, safety and integrity across our sport. Strong foundations will create confidence and assurance, and a future where everyone from all walks of life can belong and thrive in rowing.
We at British Rowing must lead by example. This starts with assuring ourselves and you, our stakeholders, that we are role modelling the change we need to see. We are embarking on this internal programme in the knowledge that behaviours have not always been of the standard that we should all expect of our sport. We want to thank members of our community who have already come forward to share their experience with us.
We have the full support of UK Sport and Sport England, and we will be working closely with them throughout the programme, which will focus primarily on an in-depth assessment of our culture involving the entire organisation, our staff, our athletes and our High Performance environments.
As part of this programme, we will continue to review how we have handled historic safeguarding cases. We have already made significant changes to our processes, resulting in a new Safeguarding Framework effective from 1 June 2026. From then, we have taken direct responsibility for all safeguarding cases involving harm, or risk of harm, to children or adults at risk across our sport. Together, we will ensure that our response to safeguarding and conduct issues in rowing is proportionate, caring, and supportive.
We expect the highest standards from ourselves, athletes and members. This programme is a unique opportunity to help drive the change we all need. Our new values and behaviours will be shaped by the output of this work and embedded across the organisation to ensure that rowing changes lives for the better, for everyone.
If you have any concerns about anything in our sport, please report them to British Rowing.
