Our legacy
Inspiring the next generation of purpose-driven rowers...
GB Row Challenge is arguably the toughest rowing race in the world: the unpredictable weather and the changing tides around Britain make it a brutally hard, ultra-endurance race but also an event requiring constant planning, navigation and problem solving… and ultimately teamwork.
GB Row Challenge is open to everyone...
It is not so much that anyone can do it, this is tough. But anyone with the right mindset can do it - no matter background or experience, even if there are big challenges to be overcome to achieve it.
It is not all about being a high-performance athlete or an elite level rower – in fact, no matter how physically strong one person may be, the ocean will always be stronger.
To succeed in GB Row Challenge a team requires the same characteristics that will make its members successful and fulfilled in all walks of life – Teamwork, resilience, problem solving, preparation and determination. To achieve this there must be a core and underlying purpose that holds all these elements together when under pressure.
A purpose greater than just competition...
GB Row Challenge fosters a culture within its competitors and supporters that stands for more than just sport or individual gains, believing in a greater purpose. For GB Row Challenge, that purpose is protecting the oceans and waters on which we row. To protect our oceans we must first understand them and then share that knowledge and connection.
This is why GB Row Challenge is partnered with Active Row (part of London Youth Rowing). With a completely aligned vision of enabling the physical and mental benefits of rowing as a sport, while fostering the life skills that help kids succeed, we are working together to build a legacy in the next generation of purpose-driven rowers.
Engaging with Active Row’s programme of 100 schools across Britain, school and club teams will be following the GB Row Challenge race tracker and competing virtually on rowing machines, bikes & running, to match the GB Row boats as they circumnavigate Britain. Alongside this, through team activities and learning tools, our scientists and competitors will be sharing our ocean purpose, helping kids understand the importance of protecting our oceans. We will be encouraging and supporting groups of kids to plan and problem solve local initiatives to help protect the waters local to them. As these purpose-driven kids build on these key values and life skills, we look forward to seeing Active Row teams competing in GB Row Challenge crews in the coming years!
Companies can support Active Row and local initiatives here.
Or sign up to join the virtual teams event here.
To enter GB Row Challenge 2023/24/25 to take on the event, you can do it with your own boat, or you can use a club boat. To find out more click here.
"I have battled with severe dyslexia all my life and as a child I was told I would not be able to achieve so many things. I do not want kids to have the same pre-defined limitations placed on them, when the truth is that they can achieve anything with the right positive and determined mindset. I love the mindset - not a disability or disadvantage but a different ability & different advantage.
I am passionate about GB Row’s marine conservation purpose because I want to see a healthy planet for my kids and the next generation, and our oceans are key to this."
"Rowing for me, and especially never rowing before, is definitely a challenge like becoming a Bobsleigh driver. It’s about having the correct mentality and willingness to learn, it makes anything possible."
"Rowing is an inclusive and diverse sport enabling everyone to feel the benefits both mentally and physically.
You shouldn’t be defined by what you can or can’t see… how you may or may not move… or your education or postcode. Ultimately you are you, and that’s ok. This is why I’m taking on the worlds toughest rowing race in the hope to inspire anyone."
"Rowing and adventure has helped me over the years to overcome mental health challenges. This will be my biggest challenge to date but I am driven by a powerful environmental purpose. I didn’t study marine science at school or university. It was several years later that I found my passion for protecting our planet, completed a doctorate in tropical ecology and then founded NatureMetrics, a company that collects and analyses environmental DNA."