MBCOCMMUNITY TANK

- Kingston Grammar School OUR FIRST YEAR - St James School - Fulham Reach Boat Club Firstly, a huge thank you to all who have made - grants, donations, or given up their time to work - Lady Eleanor Hollis School on the community rowing tank project. - Boat Club This brief report gives you a snapshot of what - Louis Braille School for the blind your contribution has achieved in our first year. - University College London Each year we normally have a couple of months - Guildford Rowing Club when the river is closed, which should have - Australian Surfboat Team: ?Torquay Pirates? generated a strong demand for the tank. As - Murphy?s Law dictates, in the year the tank was - Walton Weyfarers opened there wasn?t a single river closure! - - White Lodge Centre for the disabled Nevertheless, we are pleased to report that (as - University well as our members, from Juniors right through - Sir William Perkins School to the senior squad), many schools, rowing clubs - Wimbledon High School and community groups have used the rowing - Hillingdon RC tank, some of which are listed opposite: - Gosden House School Guildford for children with special educational needs

ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL OLYMPIC TASTER SESSIONS Following the club's excellent performance at Rio, we ran three Olympic taster sessions jointly with Elmbridge Borough Council. In total we had 30 visitors, who completed a coached session on the tank followed by a video of the Olympics to see how it should be done! Our aspiring Olympians were pretty evenly split between male and female, and ranged in age from 29 to 72. We hope they will all be encouraged to take up the sport. VICTORIA LYONS BACK ON THE WATER

A keen rower from Newark, Her parents were keen to see Victoria continued to work on 14-year-old Vicky Lyon has if Vicky could start rowing her technique with sessions on made an amazing recovery again, and get back into the the rowing tank over the from brain damage after a car sport she loves. summer, and rowed on the tank accident in November 2015. with some MBC juniors. As part of her Initially " The stability of the rehabilitation she "The stability of the tank at paralyzed tank gave her came to use the Molesey gave her the and unable to the confidence she confidence she needed and walk, Vicky needed." community rowing helped her recall the basics of has undergone tank. rowing", said Howard Lyon, treatment at Tadworth Court, a Victoria's father. Ian Knight, who coached her rehabilitation centre in Surrey in the tank, said it was "It?s been a great help in her run by the Children?s Trust, "remarkable" that she'd recovery. I'm delighted to report the UK?s leading charity for retained such good technique. that Vicky is back on the water, children with brain injury. rowing with her friends." FREE ROWING TANK TASTER SESSIONS

In conjunction with Borough Council, and Active Elmbridge Borough Council, Surrey and use the tank to Active Surrey, and British introduce people from all Rowing, we are offering free walks of life to the sport of rowing tank taster sessions to rowing. schools and those with special All this would not have been needs. possible without your support. Our goal is to introduce these Thank you. groups to sport through rowing, help get them active, and hopefully see them come "What a fantastic facility. Its and use the tank again. design is so much nicer than the 'torture chamber' I The response so far has been remember from my youth, very encouraging. with holes in large blades... THE FUTURE Hillingdon RC will be a Over the coming years we frequent visitor!" will continue to work with - Matthias J. Koepp , Elmbridge MD PhD FRCP