Tees Valley schools contest third Get Going, Get Rowing final
Schoolchildren from across the Tees Valley region arrived at Teesside University last week, for the third Tony Blair Sports Foundation Get Going, Get Rowing County Final.
Over 100 11-18-year-olds took part in the County Final on Tuesday 13 December, rowing for a place in the regional finals in March.
GB Rowing Team U23 rower and Teesside native Kat Copeland was on hand to offer her support to the competing schoolchildren, and is backing the Tony Blair Sports Foundations attempts to get more people rowing in the North East.
‘The Foundation’s Get Going, Get Rowing event is excellent for the North East,’ she said. ‘This is the first time I have seen one of these competitions, and I think it is exactly what the sport needs at grass roots level. Rowing can sometimes be seen as a bit of a posh sport and making it more accessible to schools is good step forward for the Tees Valley area and the North East.’
The Tony Blair Sports Foundation has been working in partnership with British Rowing to increase Indoor Rowing participation in schools in the North East, as well as training 15 volunteer coaches to deliver Indoor Rowing sessions in Middlesbrough.
Half of these Teesside University students have also received training in Adaptive Indoor Rowing coaching, which means they are capable of delivering courses in local special schools.
‘We have had a lot of positive feedback from the schools that have really engaged in this project in terms of how quickly the kids are developing,’ said Teesside University Sports Development Officer Natalie Broom. ‘We are hoping to get some of them out on the water after Christmas.’
