AGECROFT JUNIOR SECTION

Agecroft Rowing Club Junior section was established in around 2004. The section is now a thriving part of the club with juniors and their parents playing an active role in the club and competing at events locally and nationally.

Membership
Children between 11 and 18 can be juniors but it is best for children aged 12/13 and over as size and strength are important as well as learning the skill of rowing.

New Members
Contact one of the junior coaches to register interest.

Learning to Row
Periodically we run courses to learn to row in school holidays or early morning sessions on a Sunday run by a qualified coach. You will start by being shown technique on a rowing machine, progress to rowing in training boats and when you have mastered the basics be permitted to row in fine boats. Unlike canoeing, you balance on top of the shell of the boat in rowing so it is unstable and takes time to learn to do well. Crew rowing in boats for two or four people is also an option.

Juniors learn to scull (i.e. in a boat where you use 2 oars one in each hand ) rather than row (one oar each) because this is safer for developing bodies than to row which can cause unbalanced body development and strain.

Once a junior is deemed competent to row with the club groups they are moved into the “Club” session (currently 9.45 am on a Sunday) from the beginner group.

Swim Test/Capsize Drill
All members have to pass a swim test (clothed) and a capsize drill before they can row without wearing a buoyancy aid. We hold the tests either at the club or a swimming pool depending on the time of year.

Unless you can swim at least 100m clothed, you should not take up rowing even with a buoyancy aid and parents will be asked to confirm their child’s swimming ability before beginning a beginners group. Beginners will be expected to wear a buoyancy aid.

Code of Conduct
All junior members and their parents are asked to sign our Code of Conduct (copies available at the club house).

Annual Membership 2010
Junior membership is presently £10 per month, this includes use of our well-equipped gym with 20 rowing machines, weight machines and free weights (under supervision only until you have shown adequate competency – under 16s cannot use the weights equipment). All rowing boats and equipment are provided. Coaching is included in the cost save optional vacation courses for which there may be an additional charge.

Family membership is £30/month.

Training Programme For Juniors
Junior sessions are all supervised by either qualified coaches or adult, experienced volunteers. Juniors are not permitted to row on the water without a coach being present unless they are senior and experienced rower and specific permission has been given in advance.

Weekends:
All weekend sessions are run by qualified (volunteer) coaches.

Saturday – A water training session for the advanced group (competing rowers of good competency) 9.45- 12noon.

Sunday – Session 7.45am – 9.15am for the advanced group as above.

  Session 8.00am – 9.00am for absolute beginners when a course is in progress.

  CLUB session 9.45am – 12noon for ALL juniors.

  Juniors are invited to join the advanced group based on their skill, commitment and desire to race.

Weekdays (Winter):

Tuesday – 4.45pm- 5.45pm Circuits/ Core Stability training. Open to the whole junior club. Core stability is very important for rowers.
Wednesday- 4.45pm-5.45pm Ergo training (rowing machines). Open to the whole junior club. To build strength, endurance and technique.
Thursday- 4.45pm- 6.15pm Weight Training. For older and experienced rowers only (Year 11 and older).

These sessions are run by members of the club and volunteers working as part of the junior coaching team. They will coach the exercises, monitor performance, test the athletes and work with the weekend coaches on crew selection.

Weekdays (Summer)

We will try to offer at least 2 weekday water sessions after school starting at 4.45pm instead of 2 of the land sessions. Details TBA and subject to the presence of a qualified coach/ qualified launch driver to run the sessions.

Juniors are permitted to use the rowing machines in the club gym when they want to and outside of the above training times. There is a timetable for priority use for differing sections of the club which should be observed at times of high demand for use of the equipment.

RACING

Rowing is a tough, competitive sport and we encourage juniors to train hard and race. Junior rowers who want to race will need to commit to most of the club training sessions each week when they are sufficiently competent to race.

There are events for junior rowers who reach an appropriate level of competency to race at in the North West and Nationally.

When a rower is ready to race, the coaches will ask if they wish to do so and advise further.

However, some of our juniors do not want to race and just row for fun on a Sunday at the Agecroft club session and this is fine too.

Racing is categorised by age and type of boat. You race against people in the same year at school. British rowing call these groups:

Year 7 – J12
Year 8 – J13
Year 9 – J14
Year 10 - J15
Year 11 – J16
Year 12 – J17
Year 13 – J18

You are permitted to race against older children than you but not younger ones.

Racing can be in singles (1x), doubles (2x) or quads (4x). For juniors under 16, the quads are coxed i.e. 4 rowers and a cox.

Once you are 15 or older GB rowing permit rowing/racing in sweep oar boats (ie one oar each not two). Then you can race in coxed fours or eights.

Coxes are very important crew members and juniors interested in learning this important skill are very welcome too. Coxes can win (or lose) races for a crew and share the glory as much as the rowers themselves.

Coxes also require training and here at Agecroft we can give you the best opportunity to learn. Previous juniors have coxed our senior crews (men and women) to wins at Henley Womens’ Regatta, Henley Royal Regatta, The National Championships, races on the Tideway (Thames) and have gone on to cox ( and row) in regional and international crews.

Coxes tend to be small, intelligent and assertive – but at least one of these attributes can be learnt! Ideal weight for womens’ cox is 50kg, and for mens cox is 55kg but lighter coxes can carry weights if needs be.

Agecroft Junior Rower Coxing.

Winter Racing
Winter racing is generally timed, processional races. Everyone rows up to the top of a river and then is timed as they race back down. These races vary between 2,200- 5,500metres in length.

Summer Racing
Summer racing is side by side, heats and then finals.

Where We Compete?
In the past 12 months Agecroft juniors have competed at events at Northwich, Warrington, Runcorn, Chester, Hollingworth Lake, the Junior Interregional Regatta and time trial, National Championships, National Watersports Centre (Nottingham), Junior 16 North West sculling camp, National J16 sculling camp (Nottingham),National Schools Sculling Head (Dorney Lake) and at the Henley Womens Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta (qualifiers).

WHY JOIN AGECROFT JUNIORS?

We think we are simply the best club to belong to.

It sounds boastful but we have the most successful senior rowing section of any provincial rowing club in the whole of the country. NO exaggeration!

In 2009 we won the mens’ and womens’ Head of the River pennant for the fastest club outside London (this is a huge race for over 400 crews which takes place on the Boat race course on the Thames). We were in the final at Womens’ Henley and WON at Henley Royal Regatta.

We have a World Class Start (WCS) squad of senior athletes and a top British Rowing coach, Hamish Burrell based at Agecroft. Two of our WCS internationals were selected for GB last year and one went to Beijing Olympics.

It is inspiring to train at Agecroft
We have fantastic athletes, a large, thriving club and a club house and equipment better than any other club in the North West.

…Oh, and we have great FUN!
Here are some stories and comments from our juniors about what being a junior rower at Agecroft means...


Despite torrential rain at Henley … Agecroft ready to boat (knee deep in mud).

Agecroft Junior girls at Henley – relaxing on Henley Bridge.

Preparing to race in composite Junior VIII:


Race Briefing

Boating

The Course


We have fun socially too, trips to the cinema, camping at race events and joining in with the rest of the club with our club Head Race.

We have a café on Saturdays and Sundays run by the mothers of the junior section and members relax in the club house lounge and enjoy bacon butties, home made muffins and tea cakes between training sessions.

All this and of course…………………

We also row for fun –

The Famous Agecroft Junior Santa Row Each December





Racing at Northwich (row up to the start) (copyright as watermark)

…and racing back in the rain!



Agecroft Junior Boys quad wait for qualifying races at Henley Royal Regatta


What our juniors say…