Juniors’ Squad
The Junior squad at Reading Rowing Club has had a great number of successes at regional and national level in recent years. We offer rowing throughout all age categories (11 to 18), for both boys and girls, and cater to a variety of commitment levels, from novice to the sport to those with GB triallist ambitions. Members of the squad have won gold medals at the National Schools Championships, National Sculling Head and Regional Championships.
The Junior squad are training towards achieving these ultimate goals and enter a number of indoor competitions, heads and regattas each year.
What to expect?
We are currently full and are operating a waiting list for people wishing to come into the sport for the first time. We try to bring new entrants (Novices) into the club twice a year, this is dependant on the speed the previous intake progress and the ratio of coaches we have available at that time. We always aim to pair up athletes within their age group and the year above, in order to test viable crew combinations for events, but also to emphasise the social aspect of the sport.
Safety is paramount, so each novice will be asked to complete a swim and capsize test before being allowed out in a boat. Afterwards, novices are taken out on the water in coxed quads, wearing buoyancy aids, until they successfully complete a competancy test. As they progress, juniors are allowed into smaller boats – doubles and singles, with the first stages of the training in singles taking place in training boats with floats that are virtually impossible to capsize. Novices train for one or two sessions in a weekend only.
The next step up from the novice squad is the intermediate squad, which is the ideal environment for those who have gained confidence on the water and would like to compete in races. The intermediate group train on the water up to 5 times a week during the summer (usually double outings on Saturday and Sunday mornings and an evening in the week). These outing will be a mixture of water and land based training. Alongside outings, there is a circuit training session one evening during the week for those that want to increase their fitness. The overall aim is to improve technique and increase fitness, flexibility and core strength, particular attention is given to not overloading the athletes.
The Development squad is open to those who show particular inclination and aim to compete at a higher level, at National Championships and above. The training programme is geared towards performance, with the support of coaches who have achieved notable results already. For the older juniors, there is also the opportunity to integrate and row with the senior squads. Training for the development squad is more rigorous and will involve some type of training nearly every day.
