Rowing in Southwark gets a boost from the Oarsome Rowing Challenge

Art-Invest Real Estate (Art-Invest) together with London Youth Rowing (LYR,) are delighted to announce that £40,000 has been raised as part of the annual Oarsome Rowing Challenge. On Wednesday 17^th and Thursday 18^th June, Art-Invest invited teams from across the real estate industry to take part in the 16-mile row down the River Thames from Poplar to Chiswick.

The event, which is the third that Art-Invest has partnered with LYR to host, welcomed over 150 participants with 18 boats taking on the challenge. A unique rowing event, the Oarsome Challenge is a fundamental part of LYR’s fund raising initiatives to support the work it does in London and across the UK to motivate and inspire young people from disadvantaged communities, through the valuable life skills that rowing provides.

Earlier in the year, Art-Invest partnered with Southwark Council and LYR to launch Active Row Southwark, an initiative designed to provide better access for young people to be able to row. The funds raised from this year’s Oarsome Challenge will be instrumental in further supporting the establishment of Active Row Southwark.

LYR’s flagship schools programme, the charity provides free equipment and coaching to ensure that everyone can take in the three elements of the programme; school-based indoor rowing clubs in the winter, on-water rowing in the summer and regular in-person and online competitions to sustain engagement.

Art-Invest has worked closely with LYR in recent years, keen to support the expansion of the work the charity is able to do in Southwark, alongside the delivery of Dockside Canada Water.  Dockside is a new 1.5 million sq ft urban quarter, it sits at the gateway to British Land’s 53-acre new town centre in Canada Water – the most significant regeneration in the city for the last 50 years. Champions of the expansive green and blue spaces surrounding Dockside, Art-Invest recognises the importance of its role in fostering partnerships with local initiatives and charities to ensure the existing and incoming residents and members of the local community benefit from the regeneration of the area.

Chris Schorah, Development Director, Art-Invest Real Estate UK, commented:

“We enjoyed a fantastic couple of days rowing and are incredibly grateful to all the teams who joined us in supporting such a worthwhile cause. Through our ongoing work in Canada Water, we continue to see just how important it is that the opportunities the area has to offer are accessible to as many people as possible.

“With Active Row Southwark now up and running, thanks to our partnership with Southwark Council and London Youth Rowing, we look forward to seeing even more young people getting out on the water and benefiting from the physical, social and personal development opportunities that sport can provide.”

Matt Rostron, CEO,  London Youth Rowing, added:

“The Oarsome Challenge perfectly demonstrates the power of people coming together to create opportunities for others. Thanks to the incredible support of Art-Invest, everyone who took part, and Experienz, who help us demonstrate the impact that these events create. At LYR, our purpose is to help young people access the opportunities, life skills and feelings of belonging that rowing and water sports provide. These funds will enable more young people in Southwark to get on the water, challenge themselves, build lasting friendships and discover what they are capable of.”

Donate to help deliver the Active Row programme in LB Southwark

London Youth Rowing was founded in 2004 and officially launched in 2005 in response to the rowing community becoming an increasingly niche and elitist sport. Founder, Jim Downing, knew that rowing had the power to change young people’s lives and wanted those in more disadvantaged communities to have access to these opportunities.

Across all of LYR’s programmes in 22/23, the charity engaged with over 9,000 people across all of its programmes including events with our outreach programmes and projects working with 5,500 participants of which 66% are from ethnic minority backgrounds, 50% were female and 10% were SEND participants. The charity’s focus on diversity and inclusivity remains at the heart of its programmes, whilst recognising the need to support young people’s mental and physical wellbeing has never been more important.

In 2022, LYR completed a Social Value study of its Active Row London programme. The study showed that Active Row has a significant positive impact on young people taking part, including improvements in all areas of mental wellbeing, improved levels of physical activity and greater resilience.

LYR’s flagship annual competition, the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships (NJIRC) was launched in 2007 and has grown from hosting 840 participants to over 2000 each year. From 2023, NJIRC ran across both London and Leeds to provide a more inclusive and accessible event, seeing 3,200 young people take part this year.