Rowing club 'on a high' as it celebrates 50 years

The co-founder of a 50-year-old rowing club that has produced Olympic champions said he still got "a buzz" from seeing others enjoying the sport.

Northampton Rowing Club has been celebrating its half-century after it was launched in 1976.

Its alumni include Olympic gold medallists Georgie Brayshaw and James Rudkin, while more recently Teagan Smith was selected for the British under-19s team.

"We now have 120 members of all ages, and we do punch well above our weight," said 79-year-old Brian Thompson.

He said the club's origins were dreamed up at the riverside Britannia pub, and it started off with "just a hut" that later burned down.

"Then in 1999, the [Nene] Whitewater Centre came about, so we became part of that with the [Northampton] Canoe Club."

It was later given a grant to extend its hut by Sport England, which continues to support the club along with other charitable bodies.

"The club is really on a high at the moment, particularly the junior section," said Thompson, who coaches others but no longer rows himself.

"The trouble at my age is not getting in the boat - it's getting out," he said.

"I rowed all my life and I love crossing the line, but I get as much out of coaching as I do out of the rowing.

"I love to see these kids reach their full potential - it is a really satisfying thing to do."

Teagan Smith's mother Debbie coaches the juniors after taking up rowing two years ago.

"I came to rowing through my daughter and then did a learn-to-row course, and ended up doing a coaching course," she said.

"I find my time is spent more coaching than rowing now."

She said she enjoyed "the big crew boats" where we "look at the swans and go for a nice leisurely row".

Club captain Andy Miller joined five years ago and quickly got hooked on "the team mentality, rowing in unison in time".

He wished he had taken up rowing sooner, but was put off by "preconceptions of the sport as elitist".

"I'm 6ft 4in, I'm the shape of a rower, but I thought it wasn't for me," he said.

"Rowing does have the connotation of an elite sport, but that couldn't be further from the truth."

He said people had "access and opportunities for a sensible fee" of about £30-36 per month, with some using the boats up to nine times a week.

Miller said unlike many other sports, members did not have to buy any special kit or enter a tiered league system to compete.

"It's not expensive for the athlete, but it's incredibly expensive for the club," he added, noting that a new rowing boat could cost tens of thousands of pounds.

While he enjoyed the competitive aspect, others were "happy with just the nature and recreational side".

"We all get to have breakfast together at the end. A lot of external clubs comment on our friendly spirit," he said.

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