On Friday 18th May, 16 teams totalling 160 rowers left Fulham Boat Club to embark on over two hours of non-stop rowing through Central London to end at Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre. The whole event was organised and planned and rowed by Tideway personnel, with support from London Youth Rowing, Skerries For Schools and Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre as well as Northern exposure and Sea Cadets East London.
The anticipation about the Oarsome Challenge had grown throughout the last 6 months. As it was, battling the River Thames on the day was one of the two challenges. On top of this the crews spent hours persuading and cajoling people to sponsor them to complete it.
By 8pm all the boats had finished and the sponsor money was still coming in as a welcome party took place.
Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre runs for the local community with young people at the heart of the activities that are done. We rely heavily, on both volunteers and donations as well as grants to help subsidise the outdoor and adventure activities for young people by 80%. It enables access for young people from low economic backgrounds and disabilities into sports like sailing and rowing, which can normally be very expensive and financially out of reach.
The staff at Shadwell Basin have shown great admiration for the Tideway staff rowers throughout the training period and the fact that many of them have never rowed such a distance before. We all know what immense physical and mental exertion is needed for such an event. As a staff, along with the trustees, parents and young people, the whole community that attends Shadwell Basin, we all would like to thank Tideway Rowers from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to raise money for us as a charity and take part in such a Challenge. We hope that they themselves felt achievement, made friends, learnt infinite possibilities about themselves and have had the blisters heal to leave good memories of what they did.
To date the donation from the event to Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity centre is £26,500. This is an amazing achievement, for which we are ever grateful.
Mike Wardle
Director
Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre
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