ON THE back of Team GB’s successful showing on the water at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Poole Amateur Rowing Club is throwing open its doors to the public for the Great British Rowing Weekend.

From 7-8 September, clubs around the country will be welcoming their local communities, giving them the chance to give rowing a try, with British Rowing looking to grow visibility and participation in the sport.

Poole have around 110 members and will be hosting on-water and indoor taster sessions as well as social events, such as a barbecue, on the day.

Club secretary Richard Lee said: “We’re focusing on the Sunday and we’re just throwing the doors open.

“We’ve got the ads up and bookings are ticking through for people to come down and try out an hour-long taster session.

“We’ll be doing a barbecue, we’ll have the scull training boats out, we’ll have some crew boats out and there will be a fairly relaxed approach.

“We’re getting the people who sign up put in a specific time slot and we’ll have space for people who just turn up on the day, and a range of members from different age groups will be around to chat with people.

“It will be open to all age groups.”

After a disappointing Games in Tokyo, the British rowing team enjoyed a spectacular return to form during the Paris Olympics, winning nine medals including three golds, and have more success in their sights at the ongoing Paralympics.

Poole’s location at the end of Upton Lake and adjacent to the coast means some members train in coastal rowing boats, as well as the more ‘traditional’ boats associated with rowing clubs.

With beach sprint rowing set to debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, that could lead to opportunities for Poole’s adult members to compete for Great Britain in the future.

Lee said: “We have quite a few people who’ve been trying out the coastal boats.

“We don’t have any yet, so there’s a training centre over where British Rowing beach winter training takes place in Swanage and quite a few have been over there.

“We’ve got a few people who compete in the coastal stuff, although we’ve got some logistical challenges with the size of those boats in our facilities.

“But it is on our long-term road map to get some, it’s just where we put them and how they fit through our doors that’s the challenge.”

A celebration of rowing! The Great British Rowing Weekend launches in 2024. From 7-8 September 2024, clubs around the country will be opening their doors to their local communities, giving everyone in the UK a chance to try rowing – for more information visit britishrowing.org