STRATFORD-upon-Avon Boat Club’s head adaptive coach, Mark Dewdney, has received a special award.
Dewdney has received a welfare, wellbeing and inclusion award for his work over the past decade with Stratford’s adaptive section.
The squad boasts six qualified adaptive caches with three more currently in training.
And the coaching team includes neurodiverse and physically impaired coaches with growing female representation.
The squad supports athletes with a wide range of conditions.
This includes spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, neurodiverse conditions such as autism and ADHD, multiple sclerosis, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, amputation, stroke, long COVID and many other acquired impairments arising from accident or illness.
Dewdney said: “This diversity is not coincidental but reflects a conscious commitment to inclusion, compassion and flexibility.
“The ethos of the squad is simple – rowing for everyone.
“We feel all rowing clubs, our governing body (British Rowing) and indeed many sports have a long way to go to be termed ‘inclusive’.
“National strategies need to be coordinated, properly resourced and given the highest priority.
“All relevant bodies need to start to deliver. Participation is the only valid measurement of success.”
Stratford Boat Club president, Paul Stanton, added: “This well deserved award for Mark not only is a credit to him but also to the whole adaptive squad family – coaches, buddy rowers, helpers, parents and the athletes themselves.
“Mark has shown that co-operation and working together can achieve great things for all the rowing and wider community.”
