Juniors (J12 - J18)

Eton Excelsior Junior Squad

The EERC Juniors are now into their 10th rowing season (2011/12). Having been established shortly after we moved to our new boathouse in 2001, with a small handful of children, we now have over 75 juniors. This season has seen the juniors build on the local and national success of the previous season with more successes coming from the whole range of juniors from 11-18 years. Most notably this season three juniors represented Great Britain and many more competed at The National Schools Regatta in Nottingham, Henley Women’s Regatta and the British Rowing Championships when they came away with some outstanding performances and 16 national medals including Gold in single, double and quad events.

The EERC Juniors are focused mostly on sculling and competing in quads, doubles and singles. The younger squads aim to have fun in our internal events and compete at local regattas. The older squads aim to compete at local and national regattas and row for their country.

A factor in our success and growth is that whilst we are keen to achieve racing success for our Juniors, we are also equally keen to ensure we maintain both

• a sense of fun and camraderie
• opportunities for all

The Club also runs an Autumn tour which this year saw the juniors row approx 41 miles and camp overnight at Longridge near Marlow.

Awards 2010

Most Improved - Tom Price(boy), Gabi Hatfield(girl). Athlete of the Year - Alessandra French(14 wins inc GB and England ). Junior Member of the Year - Alfie Horn(new award voted for by the juniors). Club Colours - Leyla Hepsaydir and Gabi Hatfield. Both achieved gold medals at the National Championships of GB.

Captain(s) for 2011-12 - Amani Traynor(WJ16) & Morgan Jury (J17)

Coaches

The Junior Squad is run by head coach Alastair Horn and assisted by John Clay and a number of volunteers and parents.

Alastair Horn Head Coach/Coordinator	John Clay  Coach

Clubmark & Child Welfare

Club Welfare Officer - Caroline Horn

We take great pride in the safe & quality environment we have created for our Juniors. This has been recognised externally, as the Club has recently been awarded Sport England's Clubmark accreditation, of which we are very proud. (Sport England Clubmark is used by national governing bodies of sport e.g the ARA as part of their club accreditation programmes for sports clubs with junior sections in recognition of a quality club).

We are keen to maintain the high standards we have set for the coaching & environment at EERC. As such there are certain standards and conditions we expect of our Juniors and all the adults who become involved with the Junior Squad. These include the following:-

• We require all parents and adults who assist with coaching or aid with Junior sessions to undertake a Criminal Record Check
• We expect all our Coaches and helpers to complete a Volunteer's declaration and comply with the Officials Code of Conduct (see below to read examples)
• We expect all the parents/guardians of Juniors to comply with our Parent/Guardian Code (see below to read the Code)
• We expect all our Junior members to comply with the Junior Squad Code of Conduct (see below to read the Code)

Finally we have appointed a Welfare Officer who's role is to ensure that as a Club we comply with published Child Protection/Welfare guidance and also to act as a focal point for reporting any concerns from parents/carers, coaches and members (both adult and junior). The detailed job role can be seen below.

New Recruits

Whether your child has previous rowing experience or is a raw recruit and you are interested in enrolling your child, please contact the Junior Membership Secretary, Phil Steel.

We run several Learn to Row courses throughout the season, these take place during the school holidays.

Following the Learn to Row course we operate a develepment squad on Sunday mornings from 10.00am - 12.00pm run by Alfie Horn. The coaches will meet to decide to which children will be invited to join. There are only a few spaces available prior to each course and selection will be at the total discretion of the coaches. We will advise you of the decisions soon after the courses are completed. Please remember that even if your child is not offered a place first time, there will be other opportunities in the future.

Training

Training sessions are offered up to six days a week, the number of sessions each junior attends is based upon age, ambition and abiliy.

The Junior Squad meet on Saturdays at 12.30pm until 4.00pm with a short break for snacks. There is an indoor and a water session for all who attend. Some of the parents and former juniors help out, given the large numbers now attending the rowing sessions. If you feel like joining in and meeting some new folk, you are more than welcome. Please speak to Alastair Horn for more details.

Sunday training for J15's and above is between 7.45 - 10.30am.

Weekday Training is between 5.00 - 6.45pm (winter). 5.00 - 7.00pm(summer)  

Weekend and weekday training is mainly on the water during the summer. During the winter sessions are mostly indoors and are made up of circuits, ergos, bikes and runs with the adition of weights and pilates for the older juniors.

EERC provides a great opportunity for your children to meet others like themselves, help them develop their social and teamwork skills, get fit, learn an enjoyable sport and most of all, have a great time!.

The nature of the on-water activities is in a mix of sculling in Quads, Doubles and singles. Coaching is nearly all carried out from coaching launches also on the water with the Juniors. The exception is with our Learn to Row courses where some coaching is done from the rafts.

Racing

At Eton Excelsior we encourage all juniors to race as soon as their fittness level and technique allows. During the year we enter Head races (winter) and Regattas (summer). Whilst the Head races are for the older and more experienced juniors, the Regattas offer events for all ages and abilities. The local Regattas are a great opportunity for the whole family to bring a picnic and to support the children.

In order to compete you child will require a British Rowing Licence. These can by found on the BR website and are usually free for the first year (or £13 depending on your DoB) and offer aditional insurance as well as a licence to race. Its easy to apply for and worth doing once your child has joined the club. This will avoid any last minute panic or disapointment at the time of crew selecion. 

Note : parents/guardians are expected to pay regatta/head race fees on top of membership. Each race costs aproximatly £10 per seat.