In a thrilling display of skill, power, and determination, Finnola Stratton has etched her name in rowing history. On August 22nd, at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in St. Catherine’s, Canada, Finn (bow seat in the boat and on the left in the medal photo) clinched a bronze medal as part of the women’s quad, alongside teammates Meg Knight, Lily Abbott, and Ellie Cooke. This phenomenal achievement marks a milestone in Finn’s rowing journey – a journey that began right here at Avon County Rowing Club in Saltford.

Finn’s story is one of local roots and global ambitions. From her first strokes on the Avon to World Championship glory, her path exemplifies the potential within our community and the heights that dedication can reach. Let’s take a look back at the remarkable journey of this Wellsway School alumna, from her early days of Friday afternoon sculling sessions to her recent international triumph.

Finn started sculling with coaches Penny Senior and Chris Hopper on Friday afternoons at Avon County Rowing Club in Saltford when she was 12. Finn was clearly very powerful then although not yet very technical – she crashed into a moored narrow boat on her first trip!

Finn was exceptional on the rowing machine setting a new World Record for the 100m sprint for 12 years old girls the night before her 13^th birthday.  She enjoyed training and racing, and raced with the club at all the local events.  She trialled to get into the U19 GB team but this coincided with the Covid-19 Pandemic so she didn’t get the opportunity to compete for GB until she went to Reading University.  Last year she competed at the European U23 Championships in Krefeld, Germany where she came 5^th in the single scull event.

We caught up with Finn after the crew’s amazing race at St Catherine’s.

• When and why did you get into rowing?

I started rowing nearly 9 years ago now, when I was 12. I come from a very sporty family, but never really got on very well with running or ball sports like my siblings did so I’d assumed I wasn’t athletically inclined. My dad suggested I needed something different, and being a similar physical build to himself recommended that I tried rowing because it was something he excelled at in school. I joined a taster session at Avon County Rowing Club as soon as I was old enough – made some great friends, and the rest is history!

• What has your journey been like to get to the World Champs?

I don’t think it’s ever smooth sailing when it comes to performance sport, but there have been some tough times! If you told me 4 years ago that I’d be medalling at the U23 World Championships, I would not have believed you. At that time I was really struggling with my relationship with rowing, mostly due to COVID, and actually ended up quitting for 6 months. I never thought I’d be able to sit in a boat again. I learned to love it over time though once I joined Reading University and started to really push for more and develop a drive I didn’t even know existed and had never understood before.

I’d say this year was the most challenging yet, I was starting to get really fast and I was so excited. My season was going well until I got two rib fractures from repetitive strain at the beginning of April. I was absolutely devastated- ribs are one of the most common injuries in female rowers, and are well known as a season ender- they can take 3 months to heal properly. I took some time off, then sat on a watt bike for what felt like eternity! I was absolutely determined to do what I had set out to do this season- make it to the World Championships. A week before Henley women’s regatta at the end of June I made it back in the boat, and managed to have some of the season that I thought I would entirely miss. I owe a lot of my success to my GB coach Chris Bartley, and it’s through working with him that I was able to excel at final selection for GB, and ultimately be given a seat in the U23 women’s quad.

• How do you stay motivated to train?

I love the training! But I also absolutely love the people I’m surrounded by and the experiences I get from it; I love learning about boats, and what makes them go fast, watching myself improve every week, the feeling of going to bed every night knowing I’ve had a good day of training and will wake up faster tomorrow. Most of the time it feels like I don’t need to ’stay motivated’ because there’s no reason I have to not be! If you took away the bits around it that I loved, I probably wouldn’t put myself through 30km of rowing each day- that would be insane! I’ve just built my life around the sport- it’s harder for me to miss a session than it is to go to one.

• What is it like training and racing in this crew?

Incredible. It’s awesome to be in a team where everyone is desperate for the same thing, even if it can be tricky at times when you all have different ideas about what is going to make the boat go the fastest. We all had a different role to play but once we figured that out we were unstoppable! Our final was actually on the 6 week ‘anniversary’ of our first time as a crew, so everyone was quite emotional. We all shed a lot of tears at the end of that race, not just for ourselves but also each other I think; everyone has their own story to tell about the reason they’re here. I’ve made some lifelong friends for sure.

• What was the experience and the atmosphere of the World Champs like?

We were there for 2 weeks and it was an incredibly well organised event with over 750 volunteers from St. Catharines. All the rowers and teams stayed at Brock University which was set up similarly to how I imagine the Olympic village – every country sat in their own groups for mealtimes, and while we lived, trained and ate amongst one another, it wasn’t until after racing that we felt comfortable enough to communicate and do some kit swapping.

Generally it was very professional, there are rules about what kit you have to wear and when, or what stickers you need to have on your boat. You must have things like an ID on you at all times on race day in case you need to be randomly drugs tested. This might have been intimidating for some people, but I felt as if all of the systems put in place were a reflection of respect for how hard all the athletes had worked. My favourite part of the event was the grandstand and the medal ceremony, which was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Most people think that rowing isn’t exactly a spectator sport- you certainly don’t do it for the glory- but standing on the podium absorbing the shouts from the crowd while watching the GB flag be raised will forever be one of my best memories.

• At what point did you believe you were going to win the bronze medal?

Not until we crossed the line! On the first day we got in the boat in July, we knew it was possible to get a medal because of how fast it felt, but you just never know who is going to turn up. As it stands, both the Romanians and the Polish beat the previous U23 world best time- and we were only 1 second off it. The standard of rowing was just absolutely phenomenal, and I am so proud to have competed in such a high calibre event. Making one small mistake can cost you a medal, so hanging onto that third place was all we thought about even up until the last 20 strokes.

• What next?

For now I get two weeks off to see my family, relax and recuperate. I am women’s captain at Reading University so I’m looking forward to diving back into that for pre-season which starts for everyone else next week. Basically it’s back to the grind of real life- and I couldn’t be happier. I have all the resources I need at Uni to get stronger, and with everything I have learned this year, as well as a great boat club around me, I think I have a pretty good shot at some more successes. Ultimately who knows where rowing will take me; I’d love a career in it someday, but right now I’m focusing on taking each week at a time.

Here at Avon County Rowing Club we could not be more proud of our girl Finn, she really is an amazing talent and an inspiration to other rowers at our Club, young and old! If you are interested in rowing and would like to know more about us, or have rowed previously and are thinking of returning to the sport, please email captain@avoncountyrowingclub.org.uk

Photo credits to Benedict Tufnell, British Rowing

Alex interviews Robin Leach, long term member of Avon County about the early years of our rowing club and his memories of rowing, racing & umpiring over 60 years.

Robin Leach interview transcript 13th July 2024

As the sun sets on the rowing lake at the Paris Olympics, we talked to Matt Wells, four time Olympian, bronze-medal holder and junior coach at Avon County about his memories.

What is your overwhelming memory of competing at the Olympics?

Having competed at four Olympics I have distinct memories of each of them. Obviously with the Sydney Olympics being my first this is always the one for me with the massive wow factor! I remember the kitting out process was done in two stages. We were given a hold-all with travelling kit then when we got to Sydney we picked up all the proper kit. The rowing specific kit was made by a combination of JL and Adidas. The problem was the union flag that was embroidered on was all the right colours in very different locations. These were then sent back and a badge was sewn over the top.

When arriving at the infamous Olympic village we went through security which was like airport security with scanners etc. Once inside I remember the beds were 7 foot long which was nice so I didn’t get cold feet! The food tent was another huge wow factor – a massive tent which could seat 10,000 people at once and had every type of food ready for you from flapjacks to Yorkshire puddings.

Some of my best memories of all three Olympics is spending time chatting during the very early hours of the morning eating Mcdonald’s. Without name dropping this was a who’s who of international racing! Obviously the biggest memory is being on the medal rostrum in Beijing. It was a bitter sweet moment as we were in the silver medal position until the very last stroke – I was gutted not to have held on for that last stroke but that is sport.

How did you maintain your mental focus during the training process?

I have always focused on the goal and I would set myself smaller targets to achieve in order to get there. One of the hardest elements of an Olympic campaign is that it is over four years which is a long time. I had massive set backs where I had to refocus and take an alternative route. I had to be flexible in my preparations but without compromising the ultimate goal. Five months out from the first race in Beijing I had a severe back injury which I had to overcome.

In what ways has winning an Olympic medal impacted your life?

My experiences have obviously changed my life and I have had a lot of opportunities which have opened up to me which wouldn’t have otherwise. If anything being successful in rowing has taught me it is that I want others to share in the sport which I love and I hope that I can help them achieve their goals.

What advice would you give young rowers who dream of competing at the Olympics but may not have access to top-tier facilities or coaching?

I would say to enjoy the journey. Sounds corny but that really is what it’s all about. Now I have stepped back from the intensity of my career I can enjoy the fun moments which I went through like winding up other members of the team or competing to see who can order the most extra pillows for a certain coach.

There are bits of the sport which are hard really hard like the ergos you have to do or the sessions in the cold but try to enjoy one part of that whether it is competitive “no one else is doing it” or achieving the perfect stroke.

In terms of facilities, being at the top your sport doesn’t mean you always train in world class facilities. Every year we always did a work camp at altitude in the Austrian Tyrol where we used nylon ropes and lumps of metal as weights in a garage. We used to work as a team to put a 2000m buoy line out putting buoys every 15metres, changing at 250m and 500m for different colours. The experience always brought us back to why we were doing the sport.

The final day of Olympic rowing brought an extra spark to our Saturday outing at Avon County Rowing Club. As dawn broke over our beloved stretch of the Avon, club members gathered for an early morning row, our hearts already racing with anticipation for the events to come.

Post-row, we congregated in the clubhouse, creating our own little Olympic village. The air buzzed with excitement as we settled in to watch the Women’s and Men’s Eight finals. Our eyes darted between the TV screen and the serene river outside drawing inspiration from the world-class athletes.

The Women’s Eight delivered a thrilling performance, clinching a hard-fought bronze medal. We watched in awe as these powerful women pushed through every stroke, their determination palpable even through the screen. Their achievement sparked animated discussions among our members about the growing prominence of women’s rowing and the incredible skill on display.

But the real fireworks came with the Men’s Eight final. As our national crew powered their way to gold, cheers erupted in our clubhouse, loud enough to startle the local wildlife! The precision, power, and teamwork displayed were nothing short of breathtaking. For many of our younger rowers, seeing this level of performance was a transformative experience, igniting dreams of future Olympic glory.

We celebrated these incredible achievements in true British style – with a spread of bacon butties, strawberries and cream, and jam-laden scones. As we indulged, conversations flowed freely, dissecting race strategies, marveling at the athletes’ endurance, and sharing our own rowing experiences.

This morning reminded us why we love rowing. From the Olympians on our screens to our own rowers on the Avon, the spirit of this sport connects us all. It’s not just about the medals or the glory, but about the daily commitment, the camaraderie, and the sheer joy of gliding across the water.

As we left the clubhouse that day, there was a newfound energy among our members. Who knows? Perhaps a future Olympic champion was inspired right here in our clubhouse today. After all, every Olympic journey begins with a single stroke on a local river, just like ours.

Have you been inspired by our incredible rowers at the Olympics? We would love to hear from you.

At the end of June, Avon County Rowing Club had the pleasure of hosting four young athletes from SGS College Foundation Department for their inaugural outing on the water. This exciting day was the culmination of weeks of preparation and training, showcasing the transformative power of rowing.

These students had diligently practiced their basic sculling technique on two ergometers loaned by our club. They’d also had a taste of synchronizing their strokes, although only in pairs. But nothing quite compares to the real thing, and their enthusiasm was obvious as they approached the water’s edge!

For one student in particular, this day marked a significant milestone. After eight weeks of careful, steady work to accommodate an underlying health condition, he was finally ready to put oar to water. It’s not an exaggeration to say that rowing has been a game-changer for him, boosting both his confidence and fitness. His cardiologist has been notably impressed with his progress – a testament to the holistic benefits of our sport.

Blessed with sunshine, the day couldn’t have been more perfect for their first rowing experience. Under the guidance of Penny and Jon, the students expanded their rowing knowledge in our stable explore boats. Even their tutors (quite an unruly bunch, some might say!) got in on the action, with Alex and Debra taking them out for a spin.

All crews impressed us with their quick adaptability, particularly in mastering the tricky maneuver of turning the boats. The session on the water was a resounding success followed by a delightful lunch on the balcony (with special thanks to Kim for the delicious cakes!).

Perhaps the most heartening outcome of the day was seeing our visitors fall in love with the club. The growth in confidence we’ve witnessed, especially in our student with health considerations, has been incredibly moving. We believe this is just the beginning of something truly special and can see that rowing has once again proven its power to change lives, build confidence, and foster community.

We hope this experience has sparked the love of rowing and look forward to welcoming these promising young athletes back to our club again. Here’s to many more days like this one!

On Saturday, 22nd June, two of Avon County Rowing Club’s talented junior rowers joined forces with peers from Millfield School and Minerva Rowing Club to compete as a composite quad at the prestigious Henley Women’s Regatta.

In the highly competitive J16 4x- event with 32 entries, our composite crew excelled! Liv, Tatiana, Charlotte and Zara powered through their time trial with determination, clocking an impressive 5 minutes and 24 seconds. This secured them 11th place overall, missing the final 8 by just 4 seconds – a remarkable achievement highlighting the potential of these young athletes. While narrowly missing the finals was bittersweet, the experience gained and bonds formed were invaluable, setting the stage for future achievements.

Liv from Avon County Rowing Club said ‘Racing at the Henley Women’s Regatta 2024 was an incredible experience – it was amazing to see and race on the famous course, and the atmosphere was brilliant! Being a part of a composite crew was a great opportunity and I really enjoyed learning from the athletes and coaches from other clubs’

The event confirms the benefits of composite crews for clubs and rowers:

1. Expanded Opportunities: Allowing clubs and individual rowers to participate in prestigious events.
2. Skill Development: Exposing rowers to different techniques and perspectives.
3. Building Connections: Fostering friendships across the rowing community.
4. Increased Competitiveness: Combining talent to achieve higher performance levels.
5. Motivation and Inspiration: Competing at high-profile events drives young rowers to excel.

Composite crews embody the spirit of cooperation and excellence in rowing. We look forward to more opportunities to join forces with other clubs and showcase the best of what our rowers can achieve.

Congratulations to our fantastic junior rowers and their teammates. Your hard work and team spirit have made us all immensely proud and we can’t wait to see you race again at the British Rowing Junior Championships!