Bournemouth University will support British Rowing in the lead up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games to help establish the GB Olympic Beach Sprint programme and bring home medals for Great Britain.
Beach Sprint is a fast-paced sports discipline that combines rowing and sprinting. Athletes start the race with a sprint run on the beach, row around a buoy course and finish the race with a sprint back to the beach finish line. In 2022 the GB Beach Sprint team won five medals at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Wales. All the teams were made up of a mix of river and coastal skills, the majority of whom had only tried the format for the first time that season.
The decision to collaborate with Bournemouth University (BU) was based on the ideal location that Bournemouth and the surrounding area offers, including its superb beaches and the proximity to the sports facilities that SportBU can offer visiting athletes and local talent.
Martin Wells, High Performance Manager said: “This will be a superb opportunity for British Rowing and Beach Sprint athletes to take advantage of our high-performance sports laboratory facilities that are conveniently located five minutes from Bournemouth beaches. Having an Olympic environment on campus and in the area will help inspire the next generation of young athletes and Sports students.”
BU will also be developing their own Beach Sprint programme led by Kath Coleman-Jones, BU’s Beach Sprint and Rowing Coach, who will be tasked with identifying talent within the local area and recruiting BU students who show Olympic promise in this discipline over the coming years. Student athletes will get the chance to train and compete in the GB Beach Print Performance Development Academy (PDA) and work alongside other GB Olympic coaches and athletes.
Kath Coleman-Jones said: “BU and British Rowing’s collaboration offers a unique coastal rowing community for training and development. Bournemouth’s exceptional beaches, a stone's throw from the BU’s great facilities will allow world-class athletes and coaches the best training opportunities to develop their rowing skills in the Beach Sprint discipline. I’m stoked to be leading this programme, and I can’t wait to welcome athletes into the area and onto our campus.”
Olympic Head Coach for Beach Sprints, Tom Pattichis from British Rowing will be supporting BU athletes that have been identified as having GB potential in the PDA. Tom said: “Bournemouth and the surrounding area provides a perfect environment for developing rowers in the Olympic Beach Sprint format, and we’re looking forward to working with BU to support athletes as they work towards LA2028, as well as identifying talent from the local area for future Olympic Games.”
As well as inspiring the next generation of Olympic athletes, the partnership will allow BU students on Sports Management programmes the chance to help Olympic athletes manage their performance in the High Performance Laboratory on BU’s Talbot campus, and get involved in research work and placements. Dr Andrew Callaway, Principal Academic in Biomechanics and Performance Analysis said: “Students will get the chance to work and engage with top-level athletes and coaches, developing valuable skills that they can take forward into their future careers.”
Helping to facilitate the partnership, Michael Barry, Assistant Head of Sport at BU said: "I cannot be prouder to get to this moment. Being at the forefront of a new Olympic discipline is very exciting for Bournemouth and having BU support our Team GB athletes is incredible".
For further information about SportBU and the courses on offer, please visit the BU website.
