About Us

London Youth Rowing was launched in June 2004 at the London Regatta Centre , a world class rowing facility, operated by the RADT, in Newham. The project has recently expanded to the Lea Rowing Club in Hackney and to Barn Elms Rowing Centre in West London and provides an integrated programme that is easily accessible to young people, wherever they are.

We aim to increase the number of young people able to access the sports of rowing and indoor rowing and in particular, to expand the appeal of the sports to those from less advantaged backgrounds. By combining the resources of local youth clubs, schools, and specialist rowing centres, we can provide a first exposure for many with no prior experience in the sport. By providing high standards of coaching and encouragement we offer recreational rowing as well as specific programmes for those capable of competing at national and international levels.

Today, the programme draws participants largely from East London, an area of high social need. Newham and Tower Hamlets, the two East London boroughs adjacent to the LRC are ethnically diverse areas and are amongst the most deprived local authorities in England. The East London region is home to approximately 22,000 London Youth members in 200 youth clubs while Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney alone have 95 London Youth clubs. In West London, London Youth Rowing will operate in a more affluent area where rowing is a more established sport. London Youth operates 26 Youth Clubs in Wandsworth and Richmond.