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Issue 109 - July 1998
The views of young, non-rowers came from focus groups. Some boys had rowed a sailing dinghy, but none of the boys had tried rowing as a sport. One boy had friends at school who rowed in a local club, and another set of boys was in a school that had a rowing club, but were not old enough to be offered rowing.
All of the older boys had watched rowing at the Olympics and the Boat Race, and knew Redgrave and Pinsent. All boys thought that rowers were fit, and other adjectives used were 'sporty' and 'determined'. The older boys thought rowers like racing, using up energy, speed and the 'burn'.
One set of older boys knew that there are different types of boat, fours, pairs, coxless and coxed. None of the boys thought rowing is 'uncool', unlike chess. However, one boy thought it could get boring.
All of the boys would have a go on the water if offered and none were afraid of water. If they took up rowing the boys would not be bothered about certificates. They would just row for enjoyment. They all thought it would be no more expensive than sailing.
Football was the favourite sport of all the boys to watch, and they liked being able to talk about televised football matches with friends. However, football was the favourite sport to play of only one boy. The others had a variety as their favourite participatory sports including cycling, tennis and swimming.
All boys thought young people played less sport now because of computer games. They thought that computer games offered the opportunity to play sport on the computer rather than for real.
All boys wanted to try a sport first to see if they liked it, and then have coaching. Some boys questioned the value of coaching they had received because they felt they always returned to 'old habits' anyway. The boys did not want to be forced into things.
They all thought a coach should not be bossy, and
'should do more of what you want to do, not what they want to do'.Suggestions for this included fun things like games, getting wet and going away on trips. 'Make it fun, easy and enjoyable', was the response of one boy. Others thought promoting rowing in schools would be useful, probably as an after school club, but one boy thought it would be ideal to do it in games lessons for a year and then have it as a choice.
None of these boys thought poster and TV adverts would work, but they all suggested having more rowing on TV and promoting rowing events more so people know where they could go along and watch.
They had all watched rowing on television, the Boat Race and the Olympics. One girl had seen gig racing in the Isles of Scilly and thought that looked fun.
One group discussed the view that rowing was expensive after some had said that it was and others thought not, and concluded that to get involved with any activity costs money 'these days'. Another group thought that it would probably be best to join a club rather than just take it up, whereas other sports could be taken up without belonging to a club, e.g. running.
All girls said that they would try rowing if given the opportunity. One of the younger girls said,
'It looks really fancy going up and down the water.'None of the girls thought that rowing has a 'snobby' image; a sport thought to have such an image was horse racing. All girls thought that young people were doing less sport now due to computer games and television.
They all thought that sport was a good way to 'get out of the house, and away from TV.' They also saw it as a way of meeting people. One group thought that their school was too focused on competitive sports and they would like the opportunity to develop personal fitness, using dance and aerobics.
All the girls thought it was best to follow a scheme and that it could be an incentive to receive certificates. Two girls had given up competitive sport because they felt pressurised by their coaches, one giving up swimming competitively and the other playing netball. All the girls thought a coach should be friendly and speak 'nicely'.
All girls thought posters would be useful, one girl adding that the poster should show 'happy people' rowing, and these would be most useful in sports centres. All the girls thought spreading a good reputation by word of mouth was the best way to encourage people to row,
'come on it's great, it's really fun'.One of the younger girls thought leaflets to hand out would be a good idea.
All girls thought a roadshow promoting the sport would be useful. One group said that when Jet, one of the Gladiators, came into school, everyone went to see her as it was someone they had heard about. They all thought that rowing should be promoted as a 'health thing', and saw it as being a useful way for girls to lose weight. One girl thought it would be best to present all sides of rowing: racing, keeping fit and enjoyment. All thought it was easier to promote racing in locations with 'pretty' stretches of water.
© Copyright Regatta Magazine, 1998.
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