Stourport Boat Club has been hailed as one of the trailblazers of a national initiative to encourage more people into rowing.

The club has been leading the way with the Explore Rowing scheme, which aims to encourage local communities and people from all walks of life to have a go.

Recently, Stourport welcomed over 30 representatives from clubs from around the country.

Coaches and club volunteers travelled from as far afield as Hexham and Devon to Stourport to take part in a day of shared learning.

British Rowing provided Stourport with £25,000 to pay for half the stable boats, which are designed for newcomers to the sport, and worked with them to find the rest of the money required.

“These new stable boats are great, they won’t tip over so many people feel much safer in them and find learning to row much easier,” commented Stourport captain Andy Morris.

“We’re attracting a lot of interest from adults who never had the chance to row and we’re running learn to row courses throughout the summer to help people get started and on the water.”

As one of the first clubs to take up the scheme, Stourport was the natural choice to play host to other clubs to share the learning.

“Stourport Boat Club has done exceptionally well in the first year of the programme, running several learn to row courses and getting many new people involved in the sport,” said Richard Stock, who is the scheme’s manager.

“The day was all about bringing clubs together to share their experiences, meet other volunteers involved in the project, and for British Rowing to learn more about what support clubs need from us.”