Olympic Dreams Ignited by the River & Rowing Museum
Knowing Rowing Launch - 14 September 2012
As Olympic fever grips the nation The River & Rowing Museum
launch a brand new education programme to ignite the Olympic dreams
of young athletes. Knowing Rowing will inspire and
excite young rowers about the heritage of their sport in the lead
up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond, and
will be launched at the River & Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
on 14 September with a free Open Day that will offer visitors the
opportunity to experience the wide range of resources on offer
through the programme. It will also feature fascinating talks
from some of Great Britain's top rowers.
The initiative, which has been welcomed by the World Rowing
Federation (FISA) and British Rowing has been designed to be a
lasting legacy to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"Knowing Rowing is a project I'm immensely proud to be part
of", says Guin Batten, FISA Council Member and Olympic silver
medalist. "It's all about young rowers getting closer to the
roots of rowing - something that is very close to my heart. Rowing
has such an amazing heritage and sharing this with young people in
dynamic and exciting ways through Knowing Rowing will be great fun,
and an invaluable resource for the sport."
Many of the educational events on offer will be hosted at the River
& Rowing Museum's purpose built education centre, and will take
advantage of the museum's vast collection of rowing artefacts and
memorabilia - the largest collection anywhere in the UK. The
museum is world's only sporting museum to be dedicated to the sport
of rowing, and will through the programme, work in partnership with
schools and rowing clubs across the country to inspire young rowers
using the heritage of the sport.
The programme is funded by Museum supporter Paul Roy and South
Oxfordshire District Council, and will reflect the FISA core values
of learning to row which states that 'rowers transmit time honoured
values and shared experiences to future generations'.
Three themes run throughout the programme: Making History, Dare to
Dream and Tell the World. Through these themes a number of
different topics are explored from the social history of rowing to
the science & technology of boat building, sporting values and
the heroes of rowing, sports reporting and the training regimes of
champions.
The Olympics will feature heavily throughout the programme drawing
on the rich Olympic tradition of Henley having hosted both the 1908
and 1948 Olympic regattas. Furthermore contemporary Olympic rowing
success will provide fantastic inspiration for young rowers through
the 'Dare to Dream' theme. In the run-up to and following the
London 2012 Olympic Games participants will explore what it takes
to be an Olympic rower compared to past games which will be
particularly insightful once the successes of the 2012 Olympic
Regatta can be examined.
Knowing Rowing will start across the Thames Valley before
eventually rolling out nationwide. Resources will be accessible
through a range of opportunities including museum based workshops
and talks, rowing club sessions and online media for rowing
organisations across the UK, including downloadable interviews and
podcasts with Britain's top rowers.
A second strand of the project 'Rowing in the Classroom' will run
concurrently with Knowing Rowing, and will aim to bring rowing
heritage to a wider school audience by providing strongly
curriculum linked sessions both in school and at the Museum
designed to encourage children to take up rowing.
For more information about the Knowing Rowing Open Day 14
September, or any other aspects of the programme please contact
Lisa Hann, Programme Development Officer: 01491 415639 or email:
lisa.hann@rrm.co.uk.
Further information can be found at http://www.rrm.co.uk/learning/knowing-rowing.aspx