Walton Rowing Club has over 100 junior members, boys and girls from beginners to national champions and GB representatives. The junior programme is committed to teaching the rewards of rowing and what it means to be a part of a crew. Rowing is one of the best sports for building endurance, co-ordination and all-round physical conditioning. Our rowers come from all over Surrey and enjoy great team camaraderie in addition to dedication, hard work, and the thrill of making a boat move or making a crew “click”.
At the top levels, rowing is physically and mentally very demanding, and Walton has many junior athletes who do achieve the highest standards of personal and athletic excellence. But for younger participants it is important to develop watermanship skills and enjoyment in a relaxed and safe environment, and this is what we aim for.
All of our coaches are volunteers and have appropriate coaching qualifications; we try to maintain low ratios of junior rowers to coaches, particularly in the early stages, and incorporate safety and capsize drills at appropriate points. We do not over-stretch young people, but we are a successful racing club and do encourage juniors to race as soon as they are able.
We require all beginners to attend one of our courses; that way they learn the basics and are able to join in crews; they then start with a group of their own standard. Our courses are intended for those who want to join the club and row with Walton afterwards – they are not “holiday activities”. We do not normally accept pupils at rowing schools, even if they do not yet row at school, as this usually causes problems later.
We run a waiting-list for our courses (which are usually over-subscribed) and so we recommend that you register your interest early using this form.
Courses for 12-to-14-year-olds run on weekday mornings in the Easter and summer holidays. Attendees on our beginners’ courses must have reached their twelfth birthday and should be at least 150cm tall. The next course is likely to be in the Easter holidays 2025 but we encourage you to register your interest early.
Courses for 15-to-16-year-olds run on Wednesday evenings during the summer.
After joining, juniors pay an annual fee (£348 in 2024) pro rata from the date of joining; this covers coaching and all use of equipment – the only extra costs come when they start racing, for kit and for entry fees. Most juniors start with one session a week, but can attend up to four sessions a week when they have the necessary skills and fitness. Normal session times for under-14s in summer are 10 – 11.30 on Saturdays and Sundays and 6 – 7 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings; in the winter months we offer indoor rowing and supervised circuit-training 5 – 6 on the weekday evenings.
Contact team@ [this website address] to arrange a time to visit or for more information about our junior programme. Please include in the email the name and age of the junior, and the school they attend.