In October 2007 ASRA were successful in securing a Lottery grant of £269,773 from the "Young People Fund". This will enable ASRA to continue and expand the Dry and Wet Start pilot programmes, which have been operating in Aberdeen since November 2006 under the charismatic direction of ASRA alumna and coach, Morag Emery. The original pilot scheme was conceived and financed by Henley Stewards Charitable Trust, the Aberdeen City Council "Active Schools Programme" and the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association.
Twin highlights at the end of the first year of the pilot were the two invitational races at the Scottish Championships involving Dry/Wet Start rowers from Glasgow and Aberdeen. Kincorth Academy won one and Harlaw Academy won the other.
Kincorth winners
The Lottery grant will fund three part-time Development Officers and one full-time Co-ordinator's position across the four years of the project and will also enable ASRA to purchase additional rowing machines, beginners' boats and blades, a minibus and a towing vehicle.
Colin Wallace was recruited as the first Development Officer in November 2007 and this has enabled ASRA to expand Morag's pilot into two additional schools, St. Machar and Bankhead Academies. This rate of expansion will be continued each year until we have a total of ten schools participating by the end of year four.
Morag and Colin are at present working as a team in Harlaw, Kincorth, St. Machar and Bankhead Academies and are using the lessons learned from the pilot to update and restructure their development programmes for 2008.
ASRA is delighted with the progress of the pilot to date and is already reaping the benefits in the form of a substantial increase in its active rowing membership and the Committee and members would like to take this opportunity to express their gratitude to Morag for all her hard work during 2006/7 and to wish her and Colin every success with the expanded project.