Grange School Rowing Club shortlisted at The Annual British Rowing Awards

The Grange School Rowing Club reached the final of the annual British Rowing Awards.

The awards were established to celebrate the people, clubs and crews from across the rowing community who deserve recognition.  A record number of entries were received across the 10 categories and we were honoured to reach the shortlist in the two that we entered.

The national winners were announced in a live webcast on 25^th January, hosted by British Rowing umpire Zoe Hayes, who was joined by a star-studded line-up from across the rowing community.

In the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ category, Colin Ratcliffe was shortlisted for this prestigious national award having been announced as the North West regional winner in December. 

Colin began as a volunteer coach with GSRC in 2006 where it soon became apparent he was a very able boatman with an invaluable set of skills.  He is a true craftsman carrying out work to ensure our rowers train and race in superbly maintained boats. His dedication in maintaining and repairing our fleet enabled our rowers to row 64,350 training km in the 2022 – 2023 season alone. Alongside his work at the Boathouse at the River Weaver he also loaded 336 boats and towed them 3,932 miles around the country for the events we attended!

There is a genuine sense of gratitude and affection for Colin throughout the club both from present and past rowers. His commitment to the club was recognised by school in 2023 when he was awarded the Day Cup for Outstanding Contribution to School Life. 

The second award entered by the Rowing Club was for the Boys J16 quadruple sculling crew of Charlie Goodman, Abdelrahman Farag, Gus Goode and Eamonn Timmons-Williams. This was a very competitive category with 9 crews shortlisted from the many nominees.  The shortlisting recognises the significant progress this crew have achieved since forming in 2021 with a number of wins across the year.

Commenting on the awards, Gareth Ireland, Director of Rowing at the Grange School said:

“I am thrilled that Colin is the North West Regional winner of the Volunteer of the Year.  This award rightly recognises his phenomenal effort and the dedication he has provided the club with for 18 years.  He does this alongside a team of other committed volunteers, and I am truly grateful for the support they give us.”

 “The shortlisting for the boys J16 quadruple crew is worthy recognition of their achievements and testament to their hard work, resilience and an unwavering commitment to the sport.   Our rowing programme at the Grange School is going from strength to strength and I am proud to have them as role models for our 150 strong club of rowers.

Congratulations also go to ex-GSRC rower and Grange School alumna, Beth Laidlaw, who was part of the team awarded Coaching Team of the Year for their endeavours at Tyne Amateur Rowing Club.

About the Grange School Rowing Club:

The Grange School is a co-educational independent school for 4-18 year olds, located in the heart of Cheshire, in the semi-rural village of Hartford. The School Boat Club was established in 1985 and is located on a five-kilometre stretch of The River Weaver in Acton Bridge.