{"id":8345,"date":"2021-08-26T07:48:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T07:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=8345"},"modified":"2021-08-26T07:49:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T07:49:02","slug":"back-on-the-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/26\/back-on-the-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Back On The Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CONNECTED catches up with Will Rand, Director of the Reading University Boat Club<\/a> (RUBC), to find out more about how the club\u2019s rowers have stayed mentally and physically fit during a challenging year, and their joy at getting back out on the water after lockdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Following Will\u2019s chat with CONNECTED about how the RUBC supports aspiring athletes<\/a>, including future Olympians, we caught up with the Reading graduate once again to share how the club has guided current students through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Will reflected: \u201cIt has been massively different to what we\u2019re used to, but thankfully the support of the team and the University has been really great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the government\u2019s decision to go into lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020, students had to switch their early morning training sessions for a long stretch at home.<\/p>\n

Will said: \u201cIt was the mental toll, rather than physical, that was the most noticeable in our students during lockdown. Rowing is big part of our students\u2019 lives \u2013 it\u2019s where they see their friends and connect with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around the World in 80 Days<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The club did offer training that students could do at home, but they wanted to find another way to bring the team together which led them to their Around the World in 80 Days challenge.<\/p>\n

The challenge involved members of the club rowing on machines and recording the number of miles they had completed, between March-June 2020. Each day they combined the miles completed and checked how far around the world they had travelled.<\/p>\n

Will said: \u201cIt was really engaging. All our students and coaches took part and every day we talked about our current location together.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen we got to Japan \u2013 this was before we knew the 2020 Olympics would be postponed \u2013 we had a great time talking about the landmarks around the stadium and looking at the locations Olympians might see.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe knew that some Reading alumni \u2013 such as Mathilda Hogkins-Byrne \u2013 would be competing at the Olympics this year, so we were also able to talk about their achievements and past roles within the club which was really uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adapting<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"In order to resume training in line with social distancing guidelines, the club decided to adapt one of the two existing boat houses into a functional training space. The move included changing the layout of both boat houses and splitting training equipment into cardio and weight training sections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make the most of the space we had, while still following government guidelines. For years, we had used one boat house for training and socialising, while the other acted as a storage unit,\u201d Will said.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe decided to clear out the other house and split the training equipment between both. The change worked really well \u2013 we could give the teams more access to train together and to the equipment they needed, while maintaining social distancing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The club has decided to keep using both houses moving forwards and has invested in renovating the space to make it safer and more functional, thanks to the University\u2019s support.<\/p>\n

An all-star staff<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The boat club is supported by three other coaches, alongside Will, all of whom worked straight through the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Will said: \u201cThe staff team were amazing. I can\u2019t stress enough how much they held the squad together. They took on pastoral roles above and beyond physical training or coaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of our students faced some really challenging circumstances. We had students grieving, students in extended isolation, students whose financial circumstances had changed, and students who couldn\u2019t go home due to vulnerable family members. On top of all of that they couldn\u2019t get out on the water or see their friends from the club.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe staff stepped up to support them through it all. They made regular phone calls to members and helped guide them through rough patches. It wasn\u2019t an easy time, but they supported the squad and one another. I really owe a lot to the strength of my team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As strong as ever<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Thanks to the generous support of University donors, the club now boasts a number of excellent boats and a wide selection of training equipment.<\/p>\n

Will said: \u201cWe were really pleased to see that, despite the pandemic, just as many students signed up to be a part of the club this year as in previous years. The standard of our equipment and the strength of our community plays a huge part in that.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are really fortunate to have the financial support to make all this possible. I\u2019d like to say a special thank you to the Friends of the University who have been consistent supporters of the club.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt makes a huge difference, not only because of the physical benefits of having specialist equipment, but to the morale of our members too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University community truly supports what we do, and it shows, in the quality of our team of staff and in the quality of our squads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact\u00a0Will Rand<\/a>\u00a0if you would like to reconnect with RUBC, or speak to Jo Manzi-Crean<\/a> if you would like to support the RUBC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CONNECTED catches up with Will Rand, Director of the Reading University Boat Club (RUBC), to find out more about how the club\u2019s rowers have stayed mentally and physically fit during a challenging year, and their joy at getting back out on the water after lockdown. Following Will\u2019s chat with CONNECTED about how the RUBC supports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":3815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[54,85,34,37,95,88,62,131,87],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBack On The Water - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CONNECTED finds out how the Reading University Boat Club\u2019s rowers have stayed mentally and physically fit during a challenging year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/26\/back-on-the-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back On The Water - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CONNECTED finds out how the Reading University Boat Club\u2019s rowers have stayed mentally and physically fit during a challenging year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/26\/back-on-the-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-26T07:48:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-26T07:49:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/shutterstock_1114147319.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/26\/back-on-the-water\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/26\/back-on-the-water\/\",\"name\":\"Back On The Water - 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