In the Britannica, the world’s oldest continuously published encyclopaedia, ‘infinity’ is classified as something ‘that is unlimited, endless, without bound’. It is this principle that underpins the boat club on Teesside that shares its name and to which community rowing is finding a Northern restoration.

Founded in 2022, Infinity Boat Club is a registered charity aiming to bring the sport of rowing to underserved communities of school children in Teesside. Their mission is to use rowing to help school children realise their full potential both on and off the water. Backed by Stephen Peel, who had a successful career as a rower before turning his hand to investing, the boat club has already begun waves on the circuit under the stewardship of Keith Brown, CEO and rowing enthusiast for the past 50 years.

“Stephen was searching for the right type of project for a little while before landing on Teesside as a location,” explained Keith. “Two things really struck him; the lack of facilities at so many schools in the area and the water at Teesside which allows people to use an interrupted 20+ km stretch all year round”.

The strategy was clear – to try and target schoolchildren who would not normally have any opportunity to row. “Tees Rowing Club have a flourishing junior section and we did not want to impinge on that, so our first challenge was finding a facility for these children that would work for what we needed,” said Keith. “I was wondering around and stumbled upon a facility that was set up with millennium funding for canoeing and kayaking but it’s been left for 12 years because no-one was sure what to do with it. After a lot of searching, we found the family that owned it, and they were quite happy to allow us to use the space.”

Fast forward a couple of years and the feedback for the first year of outreach and execution has been outstanding. “Care workers and parents have come into our feeder schools, stating that they have noticed a change in their child,” said Keith. “They’ve got motivation and they’re getting out. Stephen has seen this and witnessed first-hand the tangible impact a project like this can have on a local community.”

The Infinity team started going into schools towards the end of the 2023 school year, getting around 1200 children on indoor rowing machines. The involvement is completely free – Stephen is funding the entire operation, to the point that if he believes a child comes from a particularly difficult background, the boat club should supply meals at the end of the session too. “Stephen’s overarching mission is that the children should be vying for the same opportunities as people from more privileged backgrounds if Infinity stand behind them,” said Keith.

The benefit to certain individuals is already becoming apparent. “We were at one of our row shows and there was a 14-year-old who pulled a really impressive score,” remembered Keith. “When I asked him about it, he said ‘oh, is that a good score, I didn’t know what I was doing so wasn’t trying’. He’s just won BRIC U15 as a 14-year-old and he’s firmly got the bug now”.

Keith approached Oarsport to provide WinTech shells for the club quite early on, realising that our combination of high-quality build and affordability was a great proposition. “We wanted to be with one main supplier so we could have a consistent and interchangeable fleet and order spare parts where needed,” explained Keith. “We went to Oarsport & WinTech, and I had a great relationship with Andrew  already, so it all made a lot of sense. They have been incredibly supportive and at-cause to help us build this.”

“We have been lucky enough to work with some of the leading youth rowing projects in the UK as their sole or primary boat suppliers and it has been a pleasure to be chosen by Infinity Boat Club as theirs.” said Jack Wilson, Commercial Director at Oarsport (WinTech’s UK dealer). “We have enjoyed working with Keith and the team. They have had a very clear vision from the start and it has been a pleasure working with them to source the right equipment to help them achieve their goals. WinTech offers a wide range of different boats at different price points which helps when suggesting equipment that is going to be most suitable for a club’s needs and budget. Working with clubs who aim to help introduce more people to our sport (especially those who may not have otherwise had the opportunity) is something that aligns with our own mission. We would like to thank Infinity BC for choosing Oarsport & WinTech Racing, look forward to working with them over the years to come and wish them the best of luck with this project”. 

Now that the program is up and running, manned ably by a host of coaches, trustees and supporters, the dreams are growing and the ideas expanding. The plan is to provide a solid foundation for the local community but with a competitive outlook, so that one day kids from Infinity Boat Club might line up alongside the greats of schoolboy and schoolgirl rowing.

“No matter what background someone comes from, Stephen is a firm believer that rowing can and will save you,” said Keith. “Kat Copeland, who is one of our trustees, came to the boathouse and said, ‘so many dreams will be made in this place’. I can’t think of a more apt summary for what we’re trying to do.”

Interested in sourcing boats for a similar project?

Get in touch today. We have a wealth of experience in working with start up clubs to help them find the best boats for their needs and budget whether high performance and elite equipment or more affordable racing,  training and recreational shells to help grow rowing in a more inclusive way.

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