“Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is about rowing. It is not. This is a gateway activity that gives children and young people the opportunity to develop the foundations for lifelong health and fitness.”
-Sir Steve Redgrave

Indoor rowing is a modern sport that offers people of all ages and abilities the chance to adopt a healthy, active, lifestyle. It has the capacity to provide a cohesive solution to health, education and fitness issues, primarily in schools but also in the wider community.

Primary Care Trusts have already identified it as an effective method of combating childhood obesity and inactivity. It successfully targets those who do not take part in traditional PE programmes, including girls, the overweight, ethnic minorities and those with physical disabilities and learning difficulties.

Head teachers confirm that integrating it into the curriculum enables them to fulfil OFSTED criteria. Teachers have the opportunity to develop cross curricular links with ICT, Mathematics, Science and PSHE.

Indoor rowing improves cardiovascular fitness, can combat osteoporosis, and is conducted on equipment which works upper and lower body muscle groups simultaneously. New technology enables users to train and race online in a series of Leagues.

The Tony Blair Sports Foundation is working in partnership with Concept2, the world’s biggest distributors of rowing machines. More than 1,500,000 people in the UK use their machines on a weekly basis.

Concept2 provides training and education opportunities through a programme of instructor awards, school workshops, and workplace health schemes. It also organises and underwrites the British Indoor Rowing Championship, the largest indoor rowing race in the world.

Indoor rowing encourages activity in a range of sports, and is an effective talent identification tool. Concept2 will be sharing the experience of working with elite athletes in football and rugby union, in addition to such successful Olympic sports as cycling, sailing, rowing and triathlon.