Robert Bailey, veteran sculler and rower of some standing at TwRC, is starting the ‘Twickenham Sculling School’ at TwRC. All scullers and aspiring scullers are welcome.

This is a new Club activity that will provide further opportunities to Members for session coaching and to a limited extent for non-Members, who may then join the Club. Session sculling will be out of hours – initially all day Friday and Saturday afternoons, so as not to contend with main Club squad outings.

Twickenham Sculling School will open on 1 March 2006, following the completion of preparations by Robert:

• Equipment: Robert has purchased an Eton Racing Boat (ERB) single scull, which will be fully instrumented and capable of quick adjustments to accommodate different scullers’ weights. There will be a communication system between coach and sculler, so no shouting is needed! Robert will use existing Club launches and his single scull to coach from. Video recording will be an important feedback feature.
• Safety: This is paramount at all times. Robert is an ARA Bronze Level coach. He has the new ARA approved sculler’s life jacket, which can be worn according to need. Each sculler’s needs will be assessed as well as the river conditions. All Bye-Laws will be complied with at all times. A sculler being coached must feel confident and at ease.
• Syllabus: Robert will develop a simple but effective series of steps to help scullers progress to different levels of accomplishment. He will maintain an index card system to track progress of individuals. Whilst coaching will be mainly technique-oriented, other dimensions will be integrated in as required, e.g. posture and flexibility, fitness, strength.

The idea is that any sculler can ‘drop in and out’ of the School, as required. Hopefully the Twickenham Sculling School will also become a focus for sculling activities generally in the Club, e.g. Head entries, water safety sessions, sculling camps and maintain an active noticeboard.

Robert will charge session fees of:

• £20/hour for Members and
• £25/hour for non-Members, payable to ‘Twickenham Sculling School’

Further details will be announced as the Twickenham Sculling School gets underway.

The key benefits for the Club are three:

• A pathway for Members to become proficient in sculling (whatever their start point), hence gain more satisfaction from the sport and become better Club athletes
• An alternative pathway for new Members to the Club
• A focus for sculling within the Club, with more consistent Head and Regatta entries, safety sessions, camps, etc

For further information, contact Robert directly, details below. (Note – Robert is away in NZ from 16 Jan – 7 Feb 06.)

Robert Bailey Coaching
rjmb@blueyonder.co.uk
07813 948 598