News

Posted: 18 December 2023

Over the course of the last six months a number of new faces have joined the Scottish Rowing staff team as part of the new-look Performance and Pathways team.  The team aims to provide opportunities for more people to take part, stay connected with and progress within the sport through a range of programmes and other initiatives.

Ronan Welch has joined the team as Pathways Manager with the aim of widening access to and improving retention in rowing by strengthening existing pathways and developing new pathways for the sport.  Ronan will be known to many within the rowing community as a rower, coach and umpire in Glasgow and most recently he was employed as the Sports Union President at Strathclyde University.  In this role he was involved in supporting the renovations of the West Boathouse project.

Another familiar face joining the team is Cara O’Donnell who has taken on the role of Sports Programme Co-Ordinator.  Cara, who took up the sport as a junior with Strathclyde Park Rowing Club, has also coached in several clubs in both Scotland and England and is a regular volunteer at Scottish Rowing events.  Most recently she worked as the Project Co-Ordinator for the Firhill Youth Group and Community Sports Hub in Glasgow.  Cara will be providing high-quality support across the Performance and Pathways team.

Building on Scotland’s success on the international stage in recent years, three new coaches have joined the team with the support of both sportscotland and British Rowing.  Tom Young, who since 2017 had been employed as the British Rowing World Class Start Coach in Scotland, has taken on the new role of Lead Performance Pathway Coach, responsible for leading the day-to-day coaching operations of the Scottish Rowing Performance Pathway Programme.

Tom will be supported by Dale Flockhart, who has been appointed as Assistant Performance Pathway Coach after having recently retired from international rowing having competed for Great Britain as a lightweight rower in both European and World level competition.  Dale is looking forward to sharing his experiences with other young athletes on the performance pathway and is being supported by Scottish Rowing and the GB Rowing Team on his transition into professional coaching.

Scottish Rowing is also proud to be one of the first nations in the world to have employed a dedicated Beach Sprints Pathway Coach as we look to build and develop a leading coastal sculling programme towards Commonwealth and Olympic Games.  Iain Docwra, formerly the Head Coach at the University of Glasgow, returns to Scotland to take up this exciting new role following a season working at Shrewsbury School.  ‘Doc’ has already hit the ground running having coached the GB coastal mixed double scull (CMix2x) to a silver medal at the 2023 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals.

The new staff join existing colleagues, Iain Rice (Workforce Manager) and Helen Lawrance (Competition and Events Manager) in an enhanced team led by Head of Performance and Pathways, Lee Boucher, which enables Scottish Rowing to provide a more comprehensive and joined-up service to the membership.

The Performance and Pathways team have enjoyed a busy start to the 2023/24 season with lots of new and existing initiatives underway to help more people enjoy and thrive in their rowing.  The team will continue to be present at domestic events throughout the winter and into the summer season so please take the opportunity to reach out and discuss how we may be able to help.

You can find contact details for all Scottish Rowing staff on the People section of the website or you are welcome to contact Lee Boucher directly to discuss any additional support needs that you or your club may have.