Adult Beginners’ courses
for 2024
updated 7th Apr 2024
** Course F24-1 is underway!**
Course update
The first course of 2024 has now started and will continue on most weekend days and occasional midweek evenings. There might be opportunities to join the course later. Those wishing to do so must contact me urgently to ascertain how this might be done.
I shall email all those on my “interested list” with updates on future courses.
Amazingly, the cost of the course remains £180 for around twenty sessions over 6-8 weeks. (There are discounts available for full-time students and the unwaged.) You aren’t required to attend all sessions but should give some priority to the course, particularly the earlier sessions where the basics are learnt. The maximum attendance at any session should be ten when on land or eight when on the water.
According to numbers, courses may be designed around sculling (with one oar in each hand) in stable boats of four people (plus a steering person called a cox) or rowing (with a single oar per person) in a boat for eight people. I expect a proportion of the course to cover both rowing and sculling so that everyone will have some competence in both aspects of this sport.
Usually courses – consisting of over 20 sessions – will run over 6-8wks according to the number of sessions offered per week. There may be interruptions due to other commitments (often rowing related) during any course. These won’t impact on the number of sessions you will be offered, only the period over which the course will extend.
I shall always try to be as flexible as I can about precisely when people start each course but I need to try to maintain a minimum range of standards within each group. I circulate an outline timetable before the start of a course but this is in outline only and is usually out of date within a couple of weeks.
Absences – either planned or spontaneous – are inevitable but should, wherever possible, be kept to a minimum, especially in the early stages of the course.
Taster Days (see below) are usually only offered on the start dates of new courses although there will be more than one “start date” for each course to allow some flexibility for you and for me. So there will be opportunities for people to attend these one-off days but only at these times. I shall post dates here and Tweet them (@OxfordRowCoach).
Please be sure to advise me by email (john@oxfordrowcoach.co.uk) if you wish to be kept informed about new course dates. All those already on my email list will be contacted with updates automatically. Announcements will also be made from my Twitter X account (@OxfordRowCoach).
Booking a place
Courses don’t usually fill up. Sessions are just rescheduled to accommodate however many people attend. Click here for details of how to reserve your place. N.B. Don’t just email me!
There are some people who have already paid deposits. They will retain credit against any future course.
N.B. If you wish to claim a refund, please contact me at john@oxfordrowcoach.co.uk with your bank details and the approximate date of your deposit payment. (I have records of payments but would appreciate a steer on when to check for your transaction.)
Taster Days (structure)
If you want to have a taste of rowing, you merely book in for the first day of a course. Taster Days can be attended as a stand-alone experience or as the initial sessions of a full course. The content is the same but won’t include any “on the water” experience on the first day. You will be invited back for that, if you wish to (see below*). The cost of a Taster Day is £30 with the Taster Day fee credited against the course costs if you go ahead with the full programme.
Any start date announced can constitute a Taster Day. There is usually a choice of dates on which people are invited to start their course – particularly if numbers become excessive – although I do encourage everyone to attend as early as possible.
Anyone unable to attend on the dates announced, may be able to join soon afterwards, provided they can attend a catch-up session with me beforehand. (N.B. This isn’t always easy to organise with my other commitments.)
Taster Days consist of a series of sessions (amounting to around 3 hours in total), based around general principles of rowing, the use of a rowing machine and, providing it’s available, some time in the Tank (an indoor rowing facility like a sitting alongside a swimming pool and holding an oar).
* – Recent experience has shown that it is better to avoid the stress of trying to get people onto the water on their first day. This removes any rush to acquire the necessary – and considerable – skills that need to be taught before being able to handle a boat from its storage onto the water and back again. Those wanting only a taste of the sport may therefore be invited back to have a water experience on a subsequent date.
I have also introduced free access to my coaching videos (see https://oxfordrowcoach.co.uk/online-coaching-videos/) which can serve as a back-up to your live teaching experience. In particular, I’d recommend this playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0zZhFdeY-eUFyFHm_iPWQUucV9yHXa6n) which consists of nine videos 0f 3-5mins each which cover the basics of sweep rowing (with one oar).
Apart from the first days of a course, further Taster Days are rarely offered and then only when they can fit in with the smooth, ongoing development of those already rowing.
During a course, my own rowing commitments must take priority, as they involve others who may depend on my availability. You will be kept informed in good time about any variations to the course schedule.
See this overview for an overview of how the course will work. This also explains how you should deal with any absences due to your own holidays and other pre-existing or ad hoc commitments.
Courses are run subject to viable numbers (minimally 12 and preferably 15+ persons). Each session may be tailored to the number and competences of those available. All dates are provisional and outings on the river may be compromised by outside factors including weather and flooding.