“I wash windows for my day job, and now I’m commentating alongside Olympic medallists:” Jon Goodall’s volunteer tales

Fergus Mainland chatted with world record holder and BRIC commentator Jon Goodall about what he’s loved about volunteering at the championships and what he’s looking forward to next weekend

For those who have entered the cauldron of competition at the British Rowing Championships, you’ll have heard the animated tones of Jon Goodall bouncing around the arena.

The former World Record holder keeps coming back to BRIC and each year, lending his voice and knowledge to the commentary team as part of an army of volunteers who make the event a success.

“The first time I got asked to commentate at BRIC was 2015, and that was with Martin Cross and Sarah Winckless,” explained Jon.

“That was a bit of a pinch me moment. I wash windows for my day job, and now I’m commentating alongside Olympic medallists. I was like, ‘How did this happen?’ That was really fun!”

At the event in February 2015, it was also when Jon and his MAD Team crew took gold in the Men’s Relay.

Relays are something of a speciality for Jon. MAD Team are known for dominating the team events and out-of-this-world challenges. Their name, ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’, lends itself to some of their 100km attempts and pushing themselves to the brink.

In 2002, they broke Leander Club’s record, lowering the split from 1:19.1 to 1:17.4. Two years later, Jon coached the MAD Team squad that lowered it to 1:15.8, completing the piece in 4:12:46.7. This record hasn’t been touched since. 2008 saw MAD Team come back together, and Jon and his teammates set the World Record for the Mixed 20-29 event, which, again, remains unbroken.

So, yes. Jon knows relays. It’s clear why it’s one of his highlights of racing year after year.

“I always enjoy the relays. It’s always interesting to see what strategies people use, what tactics they employ, whether or not they can have quick changes or if they’re taking their time. I try to be as nice as possible on the mic, I don’t want to be too savage,” said Jon with a laugh.

Zoe Hayes spearheads the commentary team at BRIC and coordinates the volunteers bringing the event to life. At the English Indoor Championships earlier this year, Jon was on recruitment duties, scouting out new talent to join the commentary pool.

“More people could do it than they realise. If you enjoy the sport and you are happy to talk to friends about people’s performance and other things, it’s kind of the same with commentary. I spoke to a couple of the guys at the English Championships, and I know Anthony Walpole will be part of the team. He knows everybody in indoor rowing as he’s been around for more than 10 years in the sport.

“I used to think I was a geek back in the day, but he’s carried the baton on because everybody knows him. It means there will be so many people that he knows personally, and he’ll have that ability to give that insight. This is where it’s good to get new people involved, you listen to him talk about the sport with such passion.”

Throughout numerous conversations in the lead-up to BRIC, it has been abundantly clear that this event is at the heart of the indoor rowing community. It provides a chance for old rivals to connect and for new friendships to be nurtured.

Without the stress and pressures of competing, volunteering has allowed Jon to do just this.

“What I’ve enjoyed about volunteering at BRIC is that it allows me to meet people that I wouldn’t normally meet if I just turned up and raced. You have the pockets of people that you turn up and race with, but when you get involved on the volunteer side of things, it’s a good thing; you get introduced to people you wouldn’t normally see if you just turn up and meet up with your friends. It definitely widens your social circle, and that’s a huge positive,” said Jon, who’s previously held the 40-49 world record over 100m on slides.

“It’s the same with Park Run. The number of people who compete versus the number of people who volunteer is often skewed, with fewer people volunteering than competing. Just put your name down once and see what you make of it. Chances are, if you volunteer once, you’ll find yourself wanting to get involved again because it’s just a chance for you to see another side of the sport.

“If you turn up and race, you get a flavour for what the sport is like, but to see the inner workings is great. People love behind the scenes TV shows and explainers about how things are made; it’s the same with the rowing. If you volunteer and you get to see behind the scenes, you get to see another side of the sport. It also helps the day to go by very quickly!”

“Jon aims to have a positive word to say about everyone who participates at BRIC. He knows the pressures of the race floor and, as an indoor rower, knows how powerful the roar of the crowd can be. He’s not afraid to take the crowd up a gear, especially if there’s a knight of the realm pushing himself to the limit.

“I’ve had a few embarrassing moments where I just put my foot in it, and I seem to be quite good at that! When you are talking, you don’t really think, and you tend to just say what comes out of your mouth, which is sometimes a surprise even to me. I do remember when Bradley Wiggins raced, and of course, he’s Sir Bradley Wiggins. Don’t ask me why, but in the last hundred metres, I knew he was having a bit of a bad race, but I was trying to get the audience to give him a cheer, and I don’t know why, I called him Mr Bradley Wiggins…I had one job…”

Next weekend, Jon will be juggling competition and commentary once again. He’ll be racing in the 100m and 250m on Super Sprint Sunday and offering his expert insight and analysis across the two days of racing.

While entries for Saturday’s racing have now closed, you can still join Jon for Sunday’s extravaganza. Limited places remain available for Super Sprint Sunday and will close when each challenge reaches capacity, or by midday on Friday 5 December 2025.

British Rowing events would not be possible without the immense contributions from volunteers like Jon and hundreds of others who work tirelessly up and down the country.

We’re always on the lookout for people who want to help out – no rowing experience is required, full training is provided, and everyone is welcome.

Register for the Volunteer Hub

Join our Volunteers’ Facebook group to ask questions, share your experience and meet other volunteers.

While we look forward to welcoming join and everyone else to this year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships taking place next weekend at the NEC in Birmingham, the date of the 2026 edition of BRIC has been confirmed, taking place at the NEC 5-6 December 2026.