Boom time for rowing club (From Evesham Journal)

Boom time for rowing club

2:20pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in News

AS Evesham gears up for its annual rowing regatta, interest in the sport is at an all-time high in the town.

Evesham Rowing Club, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2013, has seen a flood of newcomers wanting to take up oars since the Olympic heroics of old boys Alex Gregory and Zac Purchase.

The hometown heroes both shone at London 2012, Gregory claiming gold in the coxless men’s fours and Purchase claiming a hard-fought silver in the men’s lightweight double sculls.

More than 40 new enquiries were made in the week following the Olympics and the phone calls have barely slowed down since. In a non- Olympic year the club typically receives only 30 or so enquiries over a full 12 months.

John Lomas, chairman of Evesham Rowing Club, said: “We’re obviously incredibly proud of Alex and Zac’s achievements and delighted to see so much fresh interest in the sport.”

He hopes the surge in interest will help Evesham uncover a new generation of Olympic stars.

“The club has really punched above its weight in terms of producing international-class rowers and hopefully this wave of enthusiasm will help us provide even more Olympians in the future,” he said.

“We’ll be holding additional beginners’ courses and extra taster sessions with our coaches from September and we’d love to hear from anyone keen to get involved.”

Details of the courses will be confirmed shortly and anyone interested in getting involved should visit evesham-rowingclub.

co.uk or e-mail Jane Sullivan at eveshamheadcoach@ gmail.com.

And anyone looking to see what rowing in Evesham is all about is welcome to head to Evesham Regatta on September 15.