Marie Gibbs writes:
Kinghorn Coastal Rowing Club were asked by a club member who worked as a teacher at Inverkeithing High School whether we would be interested in working with some pupils for a programme of rowing sessions while Yolande was wintering at Kinghorn Loch.
The result of Covid on some pupils meant that the transition from primary to secondary school, or home to school was very difficult and had made accessing mainstream school almost impossible for some. Giving these pupils a chance to go out on the water and row as a team felt very in line with our remit as a community oriented club.
Ten club members volunteered and after a huge effort behind the scenes we managed to gain funding, PVGs, and the go ahead from Fife council and insurance companies.
We liaised with Pete, the Pupil Support Officer for the pupils, organised a time, bought hoodies, wind proof jackets and life jackets so that along with the donated gloves, hats, jackets, biscuits, and juice we were all set to welcome our young rowers.
The pupils were second years and came along looking quiet, polite and anxious. but they were reassured that they would be able to row.
Over the weeks these pupils carefully listened to instructions given by our coxes, learned to work together, learned water safety, and enjoyed taking in the wildlife at the loch.
They did so well that eventually four pupils were able to row together, take turns at coxing the boat, and competed with each other in races.
All volunteers were very proud of these young people and to see how they made friendships within their group, grew in confidence to initiate conversation and chat about their lives with adults and share photographs taken up at the loch. They looked forward to the hot rolls and drinks shared with the volunteers at the barn cafe.
Staff from the school who came along to see the pupils at the loch said they were surprised at how confident, relaxed and happy the group were compared to how they behaved in school.
We finished with a great celebration down at The Boat Shed. The RNLI were so kind in giving the pupils a tour of their building and a talk about the work they do.
This was followed by a presentation of medals, personal well-done cards and a photo album for each of the pupils.
A delicious cake and lunch at the community centre ended a wonderful ten session programme.
The pupils were asked if there was anything we could have done differently to make it a better experience and the reply was NO, and they had all had a really good time.
So all in all, it was a great experience for everyone involved and a big big thank you to our volunteers and organisers from the club.
When we were asked to do it again all ten volunteers quickly replied “Yes” so we begin again with another set of pupils in October.
This project was made possible with funding from Localgiving, Foundation Scotland, and The University of St Andrews Community Fund.