Paralympian aims to make rowing more accessible

A Paralympic gold medalist and world record breaking rower has joined with local freemasons to raise thousands of pounds to help disabled people get into the sport.

Ben Pritchard, who triumphed in the men's PR1 single sculls at the 2024 Paris games, helped Henley-on-Thames' Regattas Lodge and Oxfordshire Masons raise £12,470.

The money has been donated to Love Rowing - the charitable arm of British Rowing which was set up to support more people to take part in the sport.

All of the funds will be spent in Oxfordshire, with the first investment paying for a new hoist at the City of Oxford Rowing Club, on the River Thames below Donnington Bridge.

Pritchard, from Wokingham in Berkshire, explained that the equipment would help people with additional needs to "access the water and try my sport which is pretty epic".

"One of the big pillars in recovery from an accident, like my own spinal injury, is that sport is a great tool to get yourself back to living an everyday life," he said.

Alongside "opening up access to the water", Pritchard said the new equipment would "give them a place to go where they can feel safe and they can feel part of community".

The hoist is essentially a chair that lowers up and down with a crank handle and is on wheels, enabling people to get in and out of the boats.

Joe Barber, who is an adaptive rower at City of Oxford, said: "I think it's great that people see that finally different equipment is needed for different types of rowers."

Although Joe said he did not require the hoist, he said the new equipment meant the club could now say "if you need this support we can offer it".

"They can come down and try it and see if they want to stay with us to exercise in the sunshine," he added.

Love Rowing director, Gavin Delph, said the charity was "really grateful" for the funds.

"We want it [rowing] to be an accessible and an inclusive sport, and we also want to make sure that we can allow as many people as possible to benefit from the transformative opportunities it gives," he added.

"Essentially, we want to improve lives through rowing."