Supported by the Play Their Way campaign, this Award recognises a coach’s outstanding contribution to coaching children and young people to meet their sport and physical activity needs and aspirations.

Kerry Norfolk (Boxing): Winner

Kerry is a youth boxing coach who creates a safe, inclusive space where every child and young person feels heard, respected and supported. Kerry adapts her coaching to meet diverse needs, including neurodiverse athletes, and uses playful activities to reduce pressure. She builds confidence, and facilitates peer-to-peer learning and one-to-one reviews, allowing boxers to take ownership of their progress. 

Kerry's coaching approach extends beyond boxing, with a strong focus on well-being and personal development. Drawing on her social work background, Kerry integrates safeguarding and mental health support, taking proactive steps to support children and young people and their families. Her “this is their space” mantra fosters a thriving community where young people grow both in and beyond the gym.

Arnie Ladwa (Multi-sport)

Covering multiple sports, Arnie is a passionate coach who puts children’s voices at the heart of every session. From cone-voting to group reflections, Arnie creates accessible ways for all to share their views, especially those with communication challenges. By sharing her own story, Arnie normalises difference and resilience, helping children feel confident, valued, and in control of their journey. 

Arnie has had a particular impact on girls and disabled children, focusing on creating an environment where they feel represented and included. Following feedback from families about how difficult the holidays are for children with disabilities, Arnie's work with her employer resulted in SEND holiday camps in Leicester, helping shape the camp design so that it provided a ground-breaking inclusive programme. 

Daniel Hankinson (Judo)

As a youth judo coach, Dan empowers young athletes to shape their own journey, designing sessions that are rooted in purposeful play, fostering creativity, resilience and technical growth. He supports recreational and competitive judoka equally, tailoring goals to personal motivations. Dan listens deeply, using reflections, peer feedback, and one-to-one conversations that build trust and ownership. 

Dan creates a safe and inclusive environment for all, with those that have anxiety or other additional needs commenting on the calming environment that Dan has created, helping them to overcome self-doubt and feel psychologically safe. Dan’s open communication with parents, and commitment to holistic development, make his club a place where children feel seen, supported and inspired, allowing young athletes to develop at their own pace.

Supported by BADU, this Award recognises a coach’s outstanding contribution to their community, whether they have helped people take part more regularly or start participating in sport and physical activity.

Georgina Evans-Goodrich (Netball): Winner

Coaching netball for 15 years as a volunteer before taking the plunge to work full time last year, Georgi provides an opportunity for anybody who loves netball and wants to play locally. This dedication has seen the Scarlett’s Netball Club double in size in just 18 months, to over 50 adult members. 

Georgi’s commitment to coaching is reflected in her mentoring of her three current trainee coaches and 13 trainee umpires, offering to support their development and learning in her spare time. While mentoring, Georgi also continues to expand her coaching knowledge, gaining qualifications in cricket and rugby to strengthen her netball practice. She has also introduced a mental health officer to the club and leads fundraising for local women’s charities. 

Mark Bigger (Tae Kwon Do)

As founder and lead instructor, Mark opened North Hykeham Tae Kwon Do (NHTKD) in 2011 with a simple goal: to make martial arts accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. 

In 2025, he launched ‘Senior’ sessions to support older adults in staying active, preventing chronic illness, and to create new community connections. Many of the adults who attend are either veterans or carers, and these sessions along with the social side that follows, provide space and time for challenging feelings and emotions to be heard and validated. 

Mark’s commitment to feedback-informed practice, clear communication and continuous development ensures everyone feels seen, heard and supported. At NHTKD, it’s not just about martial arts – it's about friendship, resilience and lifelong wellbeing. 

Zaynab Jogi (Self-defence)

Founder of Z’s Defence Academy, Zaynab was the first female civilian self-defence instructor in the North West, supporting women to feel safer in their daily lives, encouraging young people to develop self-belief and elderly participants to protect themselves. 

Zaynab encourages development not only in her students, but also in volunteers and fellow instructors, providing mentoring opportunities and building leadership skills, and offering volunteers training in safeguarding, first aid, and community engagement. 

By prioritising safety, trust and dignity, Z’s Defence Academy ensures every participant feels cared for as an individual. This unwavering commitment to duty of care has earned the academy the trust of the community and the respect of local leaders, making it a cornerstone of community safety and empowerment.

This Award recognises the outstanding work of a young coach who has helped and inspired people to achieve their goals in sport and physical activity.

Alex Wilson (Athletics): Winner

Alex creates inclusive, athlete-led environments where children feel safe, heard, and empowered. As an athletics coach, he supports development across all ability levels.  His flexible coaching style adapts to individual needs, balancing fun and focus to build confidence and motivation – especially impactful for neurodivergent and disabled athletes. Sessions are co-designed with children, embedding key skills into engaging games. Older athletes are given agency over their training, fostering autonomy and resilience. 

Alex prioritises physical and mental well-being, tailoring intensity and communication to suit each child. His openness about his own ADHD builds trust and authenticity. Whether supporting high performance or social participation, Alex’s approach nurtures a lifelong love of activity through patience, intuition, and respect.

Kerry Rutherford (Swimming)

Kerry specialises in working with swimmers aged 4-21 who have a wide range of disabilities. Drawing on her own lived experience with autism, sensory needs and hearing impairment, she has a unique insight into communication needs for her athletes, reflected in the range of resources she uses while coaching, from individual visual aids, pictures, reward charts, choosing boards and sign language. 

Due to the specific needs of Kerry’s swimmers, she spends time talking to new participants and their parents to find out prior swimming experience, as well as their individual and communication needs, allowing her to then instil confidence and drive in the swimmers to perform to the best of their ability. 

Dylan Lockyer (Athletics)

Showing an exceptional level of maturity for such a young coach, Dylan’s athletics participants have noted his respectful listening and responsive coaching style, which fosters trust and inclusion. Sessions are dynamic and co-designed, blending drills, games and challenges tailored to individual goals and group feedback, with a level of variety that keeps energy levels high. 

Dylan modifies activities so that they can be enjoyed by all, introducing multiple challenge levels, changing equipment to suit abilities and pairing participants strategically. By combining attentiveness, empathy and professionalism, Dylan not only protects the well-being of his participants, but creates a culture where everyone feels respected, included and able to thrive.

This Award recognises an outstanding coach who delivers #GreatCoaching online via social media, apps, or other online methods.

Sophie Evelyn (Powerlifting): Winner

Sophie, a powerlifting coach and personal trainer, has built a highly engaged coaching community that extends beyond the individuals she coaches, with over 6,000 social media followers and an online reach that crosses continents. Her group interactions and podcast - which shares case studies, progressions and evidence-based insights – educate, inspire, and create a safe space for questions, discussion and shared learning. 

Her personalised coaching, weekly check-ins, and use of MyStrengthBook and WhatsApp keep athletes motivated and supported. Sophie volunteers as a referee, board member, and commentator, and helped launch a novice series to grow grassroots powerlifting. She also integrates well-being into her coaching, supporting clients through mental health challenges, identity exploration, and personal loss.

Maddi Burchell (Dressage)

Equestrian coach Maddi fosters a supportive, person-centred environment both in training and through her inclusive online community. Whether adapting techniques for individual horses or travelling to competitions, Maddi goes above and beyond for her athletes. Her open-door policy encourages feedback, shaping both her coaching and the development of her app. 

The Dressage Coach app created by Maddi provides training tools and a supportive community for riders at every level. It offers unlimited video feedback, a score analyser, a schooling exercise library and goal-setting features, providing a community that is inclusive, affordable and accessible for all, where they can connect and grow. Maddi’s flexibility around timings and contact means lessons can fit around busy schedules, giving participants maximum support.

Johanna Hadley (Dance)

Johanna is an engaging and inclusive dance coach who teaches nearly 200 dancers live online each week, reaching students in 33 countries and in almost every continent. With her student age range stretching from six to ninety, her person-centred approach supports dancers of all backgrounds and abilities, allowing her ethos of making ballet as accessible as possible a reality, with her free classes for Age UK designed for the older generation to combat loneliness.

The online classes are accessible to everyone, removing geographical barriers, supported by a scholarship programme, and provides a vibrant online community that fosters global friendships. Johanna uses Zoom creatively, through emojis, breakout rooms and social events, enhancing learning and connections. 

Johanna also created her school’s Ballet for Sports programme, working online with athletes from the UK, Europe, and the USA. She coaches artistic sports professionals, including ice skaters, artistic roller skaters, artistic gymnasts, and rhythmic gymnasts, on ballet, flexibility, conditioning, and artistry. Her athletes range from beginners to elite performers, including Team GB, Team England, Team Scotland, GB Pathway, and European national team members.

Supported by Sport England, this Award recognises an outstanding coach who has empowered and inspired individuals through #GreatCoaching.

Peter Tomlin (Equestrian): Winner

In Peter, Park Lane Stables have a devoted coach, with over 10 years’ experience supporting young people with additional needs. Specialising in Riding for the Disabled Association riding and carriage driving sessions, Peter‘s approach allows for greater connection and ensures every child feels part of the stables, helping participants feel confident, included, and capable.

Peter adapts sessions to individual goals, using practical, paper-based or community-based activities. He encourages independence by letting learners choose their objectives and keeps them informed of relevant, related information.

He thinks beyond standard safety needs, even creating a sign to reduce sensory overload for one rider. With kindness and sensitivity, Peter creates a space where challenges are respected but never limiting, allowing young people to thrive and grow.

Ian Northcott (Personal Training)

Ian is a highly skilled personal trainer who supports older adults in building strength, mobility, and confidence through tailored training.

Using tools like the Symio app, Ian tracks progress and encourages feedback, which is acted on to keep sessions varied and fun, integrating well-being into every check-in, and educating clients on fitness principles, recovery, and long-term health. Ian refines and develops his practice by keeping pace with emerging science, allowing his coaching to constantly move forward and ensuring the participant experience is relevant and impactful.

Ian’s coaching has inspired clients to achieve remarkable goals, from walking Hadrian’s Wall and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, to medalling at the British Indoor Rowing Championships, resulting in more of his athletes planning to partake in events in the future.

Kev Burton (Boxing)

Boxing coach Kev connects with teens facing complex challenges – from trauma and deprivation, to exclusion from mainstream education. His warmth, discipline, and genuine care help young people feel valued, which is vital to keeping them engaged and involved. Kev builds trust through one-to-one conversations, learning about each participant’s life and interests. His sessions foster a family-like atmosphere, where older boxers mentor younger athletes, encouraging them to feel safe and at home while training.

Kev places a strong emphasis on safeguarding, actively supporting well-being, for example connecting families struggling with finance with foodbanks when needed. His inclusive, respectful approach transforms lives, helping young people feel empowered. Kev’s ability to build rapport makes him a central figure in their journey towards greater confidence and belonging.

This Award recognises the outstanding achievements of a coach working with emerging and young athletes.

Shoney Morrish (Gymnastics): Winner

Teamwork is essential in acrobatics, and each pair or trio has a designated leader who is in charge of communicating with coaches, listening to their teammates, and making collective choices. By providing and supporting independence and responsibility, Shoney has created squads full of leaders.

An individualised training book with customised plans and a goal-setting area is given to each partnership, empowering gymnasts to monitor their own development and take charge of their education, fostering self-reliance and life skills that go beyond sport.

As head coach at Eclipse Gymnastics, it is Shoney’s philosophy of positivity and supported autonomy which has created multiple national finalists, setting them on a path of self-directed success.

Lisa Rivers (Judo)

As Great Britain’s top international judo referee, Lisa is no stranger to the spotlight. But it’s her role on the sidelines at Kin Ryu Judo Club, where she leads a team of 12 coaches, that has highlighted her outstanding leadership and training of others.

Her approach is dynamic, empathetic, and deeply responsive. She mentors individually, holding regular meetings, and embedding shared values. She believes there is a role for everyone and encourages involvement in different aspects of the sport from a young age.

Alongside holding a job outside judo, Lisa volunteers 26 hours a week, leading sessions from beginners to international athletes. She also runs two school clubs with two of her young athletes, both now qualified as coaches – highlighting her ability to develop leaders at every level.

Peter McGuire (Boccia)

Working with athletes along their journey from beginning as a boccia player, through the talent pathway, Peter creates a welcoming, supporting and challenging learning environment. He will plan and adapt sessions to meet the needs of the players, which often requires flexibility to respond to their specific needs on any given day.

Peter ensures that the athletes he is working with and those in the wider team have access to support services, including strength and conditioning, psychology and mental health. This of course requires a very individual approach, but one which Peter’s patience, empathy and experience not only makes possible, it makes it a haven for athletes to thrive.

Supported by UK Sport, this Award recognises the outstanding achievements of a coach working at the highest levels of performance in sport, whether as a coach of an individual or a national team.

John Hewitt (Cycling): Winner

As Lead Paralympic World Class Programme coach with the Great Britain Cycling Team (GBCT), John has been directly involved in an incredible 39% of ParalympicsGB’s medals since 2020.

Despite that astonishing success, it’s John’s genuine care for the riders he coaches that is leaving the longest lasting memory, as he takes time to understand their wider needs, support them outside of the sport, and nurture their confidence and independence.

By creating core working groups around each rider, bespoke performance plans are put together that evolve with their ability and look to identify and plug performance gaps, preparing them, and GBCT, for further success.

Claire Morrison (Boccia)

The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games won a new audience over to the sport of Boccia, with millions tuning in to watch some of the most dramatic moments the games had to offer. Top of drama class was Stephen McGuire, winning gold in the BC4 category, one of many top Boccia athletes to train under Claire.

Claire’s individualised, athlete-powered approach to coaching has played a key role in further medals being earned by ParalympicsGB athletes in 2025, including two further golds for Stephen at the European Championships.

By empowering the athletes to develop themselves through self-reflection, questioning and peer-to-peer feedback, Claire is setting up the current – and future – stars of Boccia UK for continual growth, with a mindset and temperament perfect for the high pressures of the international stage.

Richard Brickell (Shooting)

The intensity of a shooting championships has few parallels, which is why Richard’s focus, as the lead World Class Programme coach for British Shooting, on psychological support for his athletes has reaped such rich rewards as Amber Rutter’s silver in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Ben Llewellin’s European Championships gold this summer.

Working with the psychologists, Richard develops ‘performing under pressure’ scenarios, while at the same time having an acute awareness of, and interest in, his athletes’ well-being and lifestyle. Coaching Amber to a European silver medal this year, Richard balanced her desire to train and perform at her best, with her commitments as a mum and her health as a 20+ week pregnant woman during the competition.

Supported by British Gymnastics, this Award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the learning and development of individual coaches.

Natasha Britton (Dance): Winner

Currently the Artistic Director at Parable Dance, for 25 years Natasha has been an influential and transformative presence in the development of coach education in dance. From delivering CPD and mentoring to writing her own training programmes, her approach has been built on care and consistency, providing real professional opportunities to ensure skills are translated into sustainable careers.

While at Magpie Dance, Natasha created the Inclusive Practice Training Programme, which prepared young people for leadership in inclusive dance. Building on the success of that project, she created the Network for Emerging Inclusive Dancers in 2021, as a space where coaches can share ideas, take part in presentations, and support one another.

Ellie Owen (Multi-sport)

A Learning Coach at Coach Core, Ellie’s collaborative approach with apprentices shapes their learning experience, asking them what methods work best and adjusting accordingly. 

Apprentices often describe Ellie as the person they can go to when things feel overwhelming – whether about coursework, work placement, or personal life. She prioritises well-being as the bedrock of achievement, understanding that if apprentices aren’t well, they can’t succeed.

By combining compassion with consistency, Ellie sustains relationships where apprentices feel safe, respected, and able to flourish as the coaches of tomorrow.

Rus Smith (Multi-sport)

Since he began working in coach development over a decade ago, Rus’s reputation has grown exponentially, from recognition within West Midlands football to national acclaim as a trailblazer in cultivating young players and volunteers into outstanding coaches.

In 2020 Rus set up the Black Country Coaches Club, a CIC that embodies his community focus and positive belief in young people. Through it, Rus delivers mentoring, qualifications, CPD, and practical support for grassroots organisations.

The Award in Multisport Coaching he created reflects and respects the individual coaching environments in the communities he supports, which often have financial challenges, multiple languages and support people with a range of disabilities. By providing in-situ assessments, the course gauges the unique skills required for such varying participant bases.

Supported by Inclusive Employers, this Award is for a coach, project/programme or intervention that uses #GreatCoaching to encourage more people from diverse backgrounds to get and stay active.

Darren Rea (Rugby): Winner

Since setting up the first sessions for children in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision, through Gosford All Blacks RFC, Darren has seen the idea spread to five clubs and a county-wide festival, growing the confidence of dozens of young children, and providing life-changing opportunities to people who had felt excluded from sport.

By holding the sessions alongside age-grade rugby, adapting them to include parents, and using mini games as learning opportunities, Darren creates a greater feeling of community, inclusion and acceptance.

Darren has also grown the number of coaches and volunteers by promoting RFU courses and taking players from older age groups on as Duke of Edinburgh-linked support, nurturing their development as caring young adults. 

Carolle and Iman Tennis (Tennis)

“I didn’t think tennis was for people like me… now I’m addicted!” Such testimony has become commonplace for Carolle (Forde Garcia) and Iman (Mahmood), whose tennis project delivers coach-led sessions in Birmingham to people less familiar with the sport, or those who saw cost as a barrier to taking part.

By engaging with local communities before getting started, the programme is timed to avoid busy moments for parents, encourages clothing that people feel most comfortable in, and focusses on providing a safe and welcoming space that prioritises fun.

At their sessions, joy, laughter and movement are a constant, providing a ground zero for new friendships and positive experiences of physical activity.

India Perris Redding (Rugby)

When India began managing Sale Sharks Foundation’s Women and Girls programme there were no projects specifically targeted at girls. Through her vision and dedication, the Foundation now works with around 6,000 girls annually, delivering initiatives such as Girls Tackle Rugby, Body Confidence, and the 6-12 Programme.

India also works closely with local clubs to help them become more inclusive and welcoming to girls. She acts as a vital link between schools, communities, and clubs, ensuring that girls have a clear and supported pathway into sustained participation in Rugby Union. 

Beyond her managerial role, India is an outstanding coach who leads from the front as a role model who inspires confidence and ambition.

John Lowther, based in Kendal, Cumbria, was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Award recognises the lifelong dedication and passion Lowther has shown to his sport and the substantial impact he had when founding Kendal Ski Club, now Kendal Snowsports Club, in 1984.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, an integral part of the UK Coaching Awards, stands as a tribute to coaches who consistently exceed expectations in positively shaping the experiences of individuals involved in sport and physical activity.

These exceptional coaches offer integral support to their participants, addressing both physical and mental aspects, across various levels from grassroots to elite competitions.

Reacting to receiving the UK Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award, John said: "I am extremely proud to be recognised with a UK Coaching Award, but I feel that it is a recognition of many people's time and commitment – all the instructors, chairmen, committee members and helpers – over the last 41 years.”

Back in 1980, John ‘caught the bug’ for skiing as the Lancaster Grammar School Governor on a school trip. For four years, he travelled to Carlisle to learn to ski seriously, before realising on one windy and wet drive back home that he wanted to build his own ski slope in Kendal.

He set up Kendal Ski Club as Founding Chairman, working with 200 members who paid £10 each to initially fund the club alongside government grants and a £40,000 bank loan.

In the summer of 1984, he and 200 other members worked evenings and weekends to build the ski slope and clubhouse with the money they secured.

John and seven other members also secured their instructor licenses to let them teach members. When they first started, they had nearly 350 members, but that quickly rose to over 500 by the winter.

Over the past 40 years, it is believed more than 50,000 people have used the facilities John set up, with the club having an average of 1,200 members each year. Every winter, John taught people of all ages on the slope and even organised yearly ski holidays for over 1,300 club members.

The slope has changed appearance since its opening. In 1997, following a successful National Lottery grant, the slope was rebuilt and improved, whilst in 2004, it was extended to help grow the club’s membership.

Throughout all of the changes, however, the club has always been run entirely by volunteers. John stood down in his 40th year in 2024, and the club, open from September to May each year, continues to thrive thanks to his work and he leaves a legacy for snow sports to thrive in the area.

John has been an integral part of the Kendal community for over 40 years, and his phenomenal coaching has epitomised why it is so important.

“I only have to see all the smiling faces of the juniors and adults who tell me repeatedly that the coaching and sense of being in a family of skiers and boarders is great,” he said. “For many families, it has changed their lives for the better. Parents are so aware that their children are being coached in a safe environment – doing something they love instead of wandering the streets.”

In 2024, John was presented with the National Chair’s Annual Award for Long Service to the Sport of Skiing by Snowsport England, and the 89-year-old is now set to be honoured by UK Coaching due to his incredible impact.

UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon praised Lowther and each of the exceptional finalists, with the winners in the rest of the categories to be revealed at the ceremony on 4th December, reflecting on the huge variety of coaching talent for this year’s awards:

“It is a great honour to be able to recognise coaches in this way and I would like to extend a huge congratulations to John on his truly incredible work over many years as an outstanding coach, instructor and Chairman.

"His endless commitment and determination to Kendal Snowsports Club has seen over 50,000 people try their hand at skiing, helping to change lives in the community. He has had an incredible impact on grassroots skiing, with the club still thriving even after his retirement.

“A key priority for us is to ensure we are there for every coach and support them to provide amazing experiences in sport and physical activity. Coaches can always be proud of the valuable contribution they make to the health and wellbeing of the nation.

“We are looking forward to celebrating together at our UK Coaching Awards ceremony, bringing together the coaches who are going above and beyond to deliver outstanding experiences for their participants and who make a real difference in their community.”

Below: John charts the journey John Lowther charts the journey of Kendal Snowsports Club. Taken from the original video 'Dry Slope Dreams'. Reproduced with kind permission of: Director Dom Pye & Szilard Pusztai. Producer Karen Wright. Editor/Colourist Dom Pye. Camera Operators Dom Pye, Chris Barlow & Szilard Pusztai. Sound Design Matthew Parkins.

Lizzie Deignan is the greatest British female road cyclist of her generation. From earning the first medal for Team GB at London’s 2012 Olympics, to her victory in the first women’s Paris-Roubaix in 2021, Lizzie’s career has seen her reach the top of her sport. 

This success is a testament to the unwavering guidance and support of her coaches throughout the years, beginning with Joanna Barber – the first link in Lizzie’s coaching chain. As Lizzie’s form teacher for the entirety of her education at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley, Jo was the driving force behind ensuring that Lizzie pursued her newly discovered passion for cycling. Whether it was helping her negotiate deadlines across various subjects, offering moral support through chats about training, or telling a few white lies about where her homework was, Jo has said that if any of these little things helped along the way, “I am very proud to have been a tiny part of this.” 

Lizzie’s first professional cycling coach was Phil West, who started his coaching career with British Cycling, working as a talent coach to identify new non-cycling talent and integrating them into the sport. Remarking on her time with Phil, Lizzie stated that he “went above and beyond in terms of introducing me to the sport and was able to keep it fun, which was so important,” referring to him not only as a coach, but as a mentor.  

Having raced against her most recent directeur sportif, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, on 112 different occasions before entering a coaching relationship, Teutenberg’s appointment to the Lidl-Trek team was part of the attraction for Lizzie when deciding who her next team was going to be. Similarly, it was the pull of the athletes that drew Teutenberg to the team, with her remarking that, “If you work with world-class athletes, you just rise to the occasion.” Commenting on her win at the La Course by le Tour de France, Lizzie referred to Ina-Yoko as one of the best sprinters in the world, and that her advice of ‘patience’ throughout the duration of the race guided her through. 

Lizzie’s most personal coaching relationship was the one she shared with her husband, former professional cyclist Philip Deignan. Following his retirement from the sport in 2018, and coinciding with the birth of their first child, Philip adopted the role of Lizzie’s coach, integrating new training techniques that allowed her to regain fitness after childbirth – incredibly going on to win the Tour of Britain just nine months after giving birth. Living together and knowing when life was too much provided Philip with the ability to flexibly adapt their training around the demands of parenting. This allowed Lizzie to continue to push her boundaries and remain successful at the highest level before her retirement in 2025.

British Rowing received the inaugural Green Award for their efforts in sustainability.

Separated from the UK’s waterways by less than 2cm of material, rowers are intensely aware of changes to our natural environment. Sadly, but increasingly, those changes are negative ones, and becoming one of the great dangers to life and livelihood on a global scale. Yet the winner of our inaugural environmental award hasn’t been daunted or overawed by the scale of this challenge. With dedication, investment and passion, they have begun to equip their coaching workforce with the tools required to spot danger, change behaviour, and take concrete action to combat some of the effects of our deteriorating climate.

GB Rowing have created a coaching workforce that has a heightened awareness of environmentally sustainable behaviours, role modelling actions which ensure participants also understand their role in protecting the environment.

They created a six-part webinar series on environment topics, following the launch of their sustainability strategy, which has been followed by the ongoing education of coaches, all of which has seen a significant increase in coaches, competitions and clubs finding creative solutions to environmental challenges.

The next generation of coaches and rowers are instinctively showing practices which protect their waterways and wildlife as default. Whether it is eliminating single use plastics, introducing environmentally friendly products, or combining a warm down walk with a litter pick, the British Rowing coaching community recognises their role in shaping the environment to preserve the sport and the waterways for future generations to enjoy.

As part of a qualification review, British Rowing have added two specific areas of learning relating to environmental issues, around how to promote an eco-friendly coaching environment (such as the use of eco-conscious boat cleaning products), and how to eliminate single use plastics. And at their coaching conference in January, they ran a workshop which addressed water quality and how coaches can be proactive in testing and cleaning up their waterways. Further courses are available to coaches through their membership of the British Association of Sustainability in Sport.

Rowing is a sport which experiences climate change and environmental changes on an almost daily basis. The governing body has recognised and prioritised their sustainability strategy as a piece of work which can not only shape the future of the sport, but can shape a positive future for the waterways and coastlines of Great Britain and beyond.