Girl on the River Patricia Carswell

S3 Ep.4  If you heard my interview with Andy Triggs Hodge last year you may remember him talking about the brilliant charity, London Youth Rowing, which does fantastic work changing young people's lives through rowing. I was keen to get one of their coaches on the podcast to talk in a bit more detail about their work. So step forward Lawrence Farquarson.
Lawrence has been a coach at LYR since 2012. In this interview we talk about:
How Lawrence got involved in LYRNJIRC (National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships) and why they're so greatWhat LYR doesA day in the lifeWhy avoiding rowing jargon is helpfulWhy the young people in the LYR programmes aren't expected to row on water unless they want toThe biggest misconceptions about rowingThe perceptions about rowing among working class kidsExpansion of LYR into YorkshireThe difference that rowing makes to young peopleThe importance of promoting exercise because of how it makes you feel, not how it makes you lookWhether there's a difference of approach between male and female rowersHow you can support London Youth RowingRace the Thames 2022You can find more about London Youth Rowing here
The email for enquiries that Lawrence mentioned is admin@londonyouthrowing.com
If you'd like to get involved in Race the Thames (and I strongly recommend it), the link is here
Find out more about NJIRC here

S3, Ep 3. As many of you know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and had a mastectomy, chemo and immunotherapy, and since then I've been on a bit of a mission to inform people about things they might need to know about the condition. Which is why I was so thrilled when Napoleon Griffin agreed to come on the show. As both a rower and a male breast cancer survivor, Napoleon and I had LOADS to talk about.

You can find Napoleon on Instagram here

We talked about:
Coming to rowing later in lifeBackground as a track and field athleteDiscovering he had breast cancerThe importance of getting any symptoms of male breast cancer checkedThe treatment and the mental battleSecond run-in with cancerThe financial implications of having cancerFinishing treatment - regeneratingThe resources available re male breast cancerThe importance of self-examination for men as well as womenGetting fit after cancer and the benefits of being fit in bouncing back (and outcomes)Learning to scull in Puerto Rico with sharks and manatees!Rowing vs runningMaking history as the first all black quad at US MastersDiversity in rowingWorld Masters 2022Plans for a breast cancer survivors' 2022How cancer changes your attitude to lifeRepresenting your country at international eventsAthletes Without LimitsResources

Information about male breast cancer:
NHS page re signs and symptomsBreastCancer.Org informationCoppaFeel information re breast cancer in menCoppaFeel information re how to check your chest / breastsAthletes Without Limits - encouraging people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to get involved in sport.

S3, Ep.2 It would have been lovely not to need to do this interview, but sadly our rivers - and the River Wye in particular - are in crisis, and as rowers and river-lovers you ought to know what's going on. So today I'm talking to Charles Watson, founder of charity and campaigning group, River Action UK, to find out what's wrong with our rivers and what we can do about it.
How Charles went from PR boss to environmental campaignerWhat's wrong with the River WyeThe elephant in the room dressed as a chickenThree solutions What you can do How much time we have left Resources
River Action UK
The Rivercide documentary
The BBC Panorama documentary , The River Pollution Scandal
River Action petition
Petition to ban discharge of raw sewage into watercourses
Find your MP here
Find your local Rivers Trust here

Where to report pollution incidents:
In England: Environment Agency https://www.gov.uk/report-an-environmental-incident
In Wales: Natural Resources Wales https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/contact-us/report-an-environmental-incident/?lang=en
Find your water company here
Find your water company's contact details here

Groups
Rowers United to Save the Planet
The Rivers Trust
Friends of the Lower Wye
Friends of the Upper Wye
Wye Valley AONB

Find them on Twitter!
DEFRA @DEFRAGovUK
Avara Foods @AvaraToods
Tesco @tesco
Sainsburys @sainsburys
Waitrose @waitrose
Marks & Spencer @MarksandSpencer
Morrisons @Morrisons
Asda @asda
Co-Op @coopuk
Aldi @AldiUK
Lidl @LidlGB
River Action UK @RiverActionUK

S3, Ep.1 A very warm welcome back to the podcast for season 3. I'm really delighted to introduce you to Kate Lindgren, my latest guest, who is a member of Peterborough Rowing Club and a passionate sculler. Having lost her sight as a young woman, she only came to rowing later in life but has taken to it with an enthusiasm that can't fail to be infectious. Kate and I talk about:
How and when she lost her sightLife in work and society as a blind personRoller disco!How she discovered rowingHow her other senses come into play in rowingThe sounds of rowingSingle sculling and working with a coach and navigatorKate's favourite drillKate's 20K challengeRacingKate's own rowing language with her coach and their private rowing languageAdaptive rowing and what it involves for clubsHow to make rowing more attractive to people with disabilitiesThe joy rowing gives to KateLockdown and ZoomErgosKate's plans to row in a new placeYou can find Kate on Twitter at @kathryn2503
To join my Patreon scheme, head to https://www.patreon.com/girlontheriver

S2, Ep. 6 In all the excitement of the Tokyo Olympics, it's easy to forget about the team supporting the athletes. Behind every medal and record and personal best, there's a huge network of people making sure the athlete performs at their best. Which is why I was so delighted to talk to this week's guest - Wendy Martinson, OBE - who is the lead nutritionist for the GB Rowing Team. 

Having started her career in the NHS, Wendy soon moved into sports nutrition and has worked with athletes across a number of disciplines including gymnastics, hockey and ballet. At the time of recording, Wendy is out in Tokyo with the rowing team, where she has to make sure each athlete is properly fuelled for each race.

In our interview we discuss:
How Wendy got involved in sport nutritionThe different demands of individual sports and rowing in particularThe support that coxswains get to manage their weightWhat Wendy's role with the GB Rowing Team involves day to dayMeeting the nutritional needs of rowers and lightweightsNutrition for injury and Wendy's work at Bisham Abbey rehab unitCatering arrangements at the Olympics - or "performance dining"Race day nutritionWendy also asked some questions from listeners:
What's the first sign that something's not quite right with someone's nutrition?Refuelling after trainingSupplements - using them strategicallyVegetarian and vegan dietsScreening athletes for deficienciesThe differences between male and female nutritional needsChanging nutritional needs as you grow olderPlant based milks - what to look for on the labelWhether there are any taboo foodsAlcohol - OK for athletes?Time restricted eating (intermittent fasting) and fasted training - whether they can be beneficialFuelling for long endurance eventsWendy's signature dish and favourite food and drinkResources
Books:
Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food
Anita Bean's cookery books and books on sports nutrition (including for vegetarians)
Performance nutrition by Kevin Currell
Food websites:
BBC Food website

S2 Episode 5 Camilla Hadland has a voice that many of you will recognise. Having started rowing as a junior at a small club, she won a place in the U23 Women’s 8 and competed at the World Junior Championships in 2010, where they won Britain's first ever women’s gold medal at that event. After university, where she was President of her university boat club, she stopped rowing regularly and moved over into coaching.

Camilla fell into commentating, but soon found herself in demand. In 2018 she won World Rowing’s first ever commentating competition and achieved a spot commentating at the World Cup in Serbia. Since then she’s regularly commentated at international events and is part of the commentary team at the Tokyo Olympics. Having done a couple of stints commentating at my club regatta, I was fascinated to hear all about her experiences and to glean some wisdom from her.

We talked about:
How Camilla got started in rowing and her multiple capsizesLearning to row in a small club set upBeing selected for the GB Team at the Junior WorldsThe challenges of looking after your health while training at such a high levelBody image and the ups and downs Camilla has had with itNot making it into the U23 8+ and moving across into coachingFavourite seat in the boatHow Camilla got started in commentatingHow she learned the craft of commentating - how to cater for the whole audience and create atmosphereFinding your own voiceDifferent types of event - the different preparations and styleThe challenges of live streaming remotely from the European Championships The idea set up for commentatingHow to make an uneventful race sound excitingKeeping tabs on rowing teams throughout the yearMaking mistakes - and learning from themHow to show compassion to a crew losing badlyEssential equipmentAdvice for anyone wanting to improve their commentary skills or progress in commentatingPlans for Tokyo and the likely challengesLet me know if you're inspired to have a go at commentating or to take your experiences of it to a new level. You can find me at @girlontheriver on all channels or by emailing me at girlontheriverpodcast@gmail.com.