Masters
Formerly known as ‘Veterans’, if you are aged 32 to 80, you can join our Master’s squad. It is very active, sociable group of rowers who train together regularly. Crews, organised by age and ability compete in regattas and head races.
To find out more, please contact Masters Women’s Vice Captains, Amanda and Sarah, or Men’s Masters Vice Captain, Dave Edwards.
Adaptive
The adaptive squad were voted the Paralympics GB Parasport Club of the Year in Dec 2020. This was a reward for following a basic principle: ‘if there’s a will, there’s usually a way, to get people rowing’
The Club launched its adaptive section in 2015 with two rowers and now have six or seven different boats serving a squad of 14. The secret of success is simple – a ‘listen first’ mentality – embracing a people-centred approach to physical and coaching challenges
“What makes the adaptive squad work is that we’re always learning from our athletes – we listen!”
Necessity means the rowers have often come up with clever ways of overcoming their particular challenges. We take something from every person who comes to us – something that we have not thought of – that help us to improve what we do with others. We are at our best when it comes to finding novel ways to teach people how to move a boat. It is different for every single person we get.
“If we can do it and if it’s safe, we will have a go” the Head Coach says “We don’t select on how good someone’s going to be, we just look at how we can make it work for that particular individual. We can help those who just want a paddle, enjoy the social side and be independent or those who want to go all the way up to the top of the sport”
Stratford’s adaptive rowers have wide-ranging needs, including participants with spinal cord injuries, hemiplegia, visual impairment and autism. They are supported by five qualified coaches plus a large number of volunteers who provide safety, launch driving and much else besides.
To find out more, please contact Mark Dewdney via our contact page