Thank you & Seasons Greetings from Fulham Reach Boat Club
The Shipwrights’ Company has been very proud to support Fulham Reach Boat Club and was delighted to receive the following message from Julia Philipson and Amanda Wood.
First, we would like to share some words from Dr Cath Bishop, a much admired and respected Olympic Medallist and World Champion Rower, Leadership and Culture Coach, and Author of The Long Win. She kindly agreed to write a foreword for the FRBC Community Impact Report 2023/24:
‘This extraordinary collection of stories and experiences at Fulham Reach Boat Club inspires and reminds us how sport can be a force for good in our communities in ways that are more needed than ever. It offers a thorough demonstration of how sport can fulfil a crucial societal role that goes way beyond scoreboards and league tables.
….In a world full of silos and tickboxes, FRBC works meaningfully across traditional boundaries, thinking in the broadest, smartest sense about how rowing can contribute positively at a community level as well as individual level. Their activities support youth development, crime prevention, access to sport for people with disabilities, and raising awareness and protection of the local environment.
In every example, it’s the impact on individual lives that is the ticking heartbeat of Fulham Reach Boat Club, and the club makes no secret of its ambitions to build on the impact to date and demonstrate further how sport can impact our communities positively and play a major role in the key social issues of our time.’
The full Community Impact report for the 2023- 2024 academic year can be found here, but we would like to highlight some of the stories and experiences that makes us incredibly proud to be a part of this very special place.
Through our Youth Development Programmes we are proud that:
- 1,101 students representing 11 state schools, participated in 574 of rowing sessions in 2023/24. This is a significant uplift of 27% of the 866 students who participated with FRBC in 2023/24.
- 70% of the state schools we work with are located in areas with index of deprivation (IMD) of either 4 or below. IMD is a 10-point scale with 1 being the most deprived; the deprivation of the school location is a reliable proxy for students attending.
- 78% of students identified as female
- 32 Students from 7 state schools took part in the inaugural Youth Boat Race.
- 72 young people participated in our Free Water Sport Weeks, taking part in 3,045 hours of accumulated activity.
- 77.5% were from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds was the highest of all our programmes.
- 18% had special educational needs (SEN)
- 163 Junior Squad rowers with 20 on free bursary places completed a total of 4,229 sessions between them and raced at a range of local and national competitions like the Schools Head of River, Ball Cup, National Schools Regatta, Henley Royal Regatta, English Beach Sprint Championships and British Beach Sprint Championships
- 5 Junior rowers now work as coaches at FRBC, graduating from school in 2024 we have now been able to support and recruit these powerful ambassadors of our sport.
The Boats Not Bars initiative continued to lead in crime prevention, providing 141 participants in prison and 17 participants of those who were eligible to take part on Temporary Licence/ Resettlement Days or post-release engagement activities, this was an increase of 70% in 2023. Through collaborations with seven prisons and local rowing clubs, FRBC equipped participants with coaching qualifications and offered post-release engagement, reducing reoffending risks. Surveys demonstrated significant improvements in well-being, motivation, and anxiety levels, showcasing the program’s success as an innovative approach to rehabilitation.
Simultaneously, FRBC’s adaptive rowing programme took its first steps toward creating inclusive opportunities for disabled athletes, offering personalised coaching to help participants build confidence and discover their love of the sport.
FRBC’s environmental action efforts tackled local river pollution and promoted sustainability in sport. Initiatives included river clean-ups, citizen science water quality testing, and the introduction of an electric coaching boat to cut carbon emissions. These efforts engaged over 400 community members and removed nearly a ton of rubbish from the Thames. Leading in environmental action, FRBC is setting a standard for integrating environmental sustainability responsibility into sports featuring in the press for our water testing and also Sport England’s Environmental Strategy.
In a year in which FRBC celebrated its 10-year anniversary, its amazing work did not go unnoticed as FRBC was proud to be awarded:
- Sport Business Award for Innovation for Boats Not Bars in November 2023,
- Sport Recreational Alliance’s Community Club of the Year 2024 by HRH Duke of Edinburgh in March 2024,
- Mayoral Charity of the Year for Hammersmith & Fulham in June 2024, and
- World Rowing Programme of the Year in November 2024.
All of this work can be viewed in this short FRBC film which was produced by World Rowing for us and aired at the World Rowing Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain.
Finally, we would like to thank you for all your great support once again. Please do get in touch if you would like to visit the club or would like to know more about any areas of our work. And look out for your invitation to the 2025 Boat Race on Sunday 13th April 2025. We hope to see you then!
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and festive break and a Happy 2025!
With thanks and warm wishes,
Julia Philipson
Chief of Community Development
and
Amanda Wood
Trust Funding Lead
