Brits behind the scenes at World Rowing Championships

Whilst the GB Rowing Team U19 squad was performing on the water in Trakai, a number of British people were involved behind the scenes at the recent World Rowing U19 Championships

James Lee, who is Events Manager for British Rowing but also works for World Rowing as a Communications Consultant, spoke with some of his fellow Brits whilst in Trakai.

Acting as World Rowing Event Manager, having recently been promoted after having joined in July 2022 as Events Intern and then becoming Events Coordinator, was Jodie Cameron. Jodie, a former Durham School and University of St Andrews BC rower, and winner of the Lightweight Women’s Boat Race with Cambridge University BC, is now part of the full-time staff at World Rowing based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Jodie’s role was to act as the main point of communication with the Organising Committee on behalf of World Rowing throughout the event preparation and during the event delivery, coordinating the World Rowing team and the different stakeholders, and communicating with the National Federation Team Managers.

Speaking after her first event as Event Manager, Jodie said, “I absolutely loved working on this event! The cooperation with the Organising Committee and the whole World Rowing team was very positive. It’s hard to pick one highlight, but I’d say the top moments for me were feeling the energy from the athletes dancing at the Opening Ceremony and seeing the smiles and camaraderie on the Victory Ceremony Pontoon after we made it to the end of the A Finals without a thunderstorm!”

Also working for World Rowing was Tim Ellis, who serves as an independent safety consultant with the aim of improving the water safety culture and capability across all classic flat water events. Tim said, “I identify best practice at each event and then spread that throughout the community. I also help the World Rowing Technical Delegate and the Doctor ensure that the rescue teams at each event are able to meet the standards required by World Rowing, and provide advice on rescue techniques when necessary.”

The “Jury” at each World Rowing event is made up of umpires from around the world to carry out a variety of roles. The GBR on this occasion was Heidi Hackett, who said, “I was pleased to return to Trakai, having been an NTO (National Technical Official) here when GB won the women’s single quite a few years ago, to find it improved but still friendly!

“I have weighed boats, started semi-finals, judged finals today and umpired the men’s singles final. It is fantastic to have a ringside seat on a day where GB brought home so many medals! The jury work hard and play hard, which makes for a great team, many of whom I have worked with before. This engenders great camaraderie as well as a strong sense of professionalism.”

Assisting the Jury is a pool of NTOs, and British Rowing umpire Matthew Holland was one of those in Trakai. Speaking after the competition, Matthew commented, “It has been a real privilege to see such talented young people make their international debuts, and to see Great Britain do so well across the board!”

And of course, to the Communications team itself, which brings all of the action to viewers, rowing fans around the world on behalf of World Rowing. Whilst the full-time World Rowing staff manages the team, many of those who travel to support at the events are Brits. Alongside British Rowing’s James Lee, who, for this event, provided all of the written content and live blog, the team includes: Ben Chattell (Videographer), Benedict Tufnell (Photographer) and Kit Whittaker (Social Media Videographer).

James summed the event up: “We all consider ourselves very lucky to be able to travel the world to cover rowing events. For me, I love being able to pick up ideas which I can bring back to our British Rowing Championships. It’s a privileged position to be able to report on a sport that I love, but of course, it’s even better when the GB performances are so exceptional!”

Next up is the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, 21-28 September, which will, once again, see many Brits contributing towards the smooth running of the event.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in volunteering in events in the UK, and who knows where it could lead! Find out more information here.