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Development Squad  

The Development Squad aims to provide a learning environment for those new to rowing, enabling them to move up to the Competition Squads or even the Senior Squads

Our squad is supported by a great team of coaches and coxes with many years experience, who have competed to a senior level themselves. They volunteer their time in helping others to reach the stage of a de-novice and win further points in competitions at a regional level.


Next Season



We look forward to growing our success in the coming season and welcome any new members or novice rowers who wish to join the squad

If you have any previous experience in rowing to a novice level and are interested in joining CORC Development Squad for the coming season as a rower, cox or as an addition to the coaching team, please contact us via email: enquiries@oxfordrowingclub.org.uk 

Development Squad Coach

About The Squad

Members who successfully complete the adult beginners course or have participated in the Corporate Eights Challenge will usually join the development squad to pursue their interest in competitive rowing. Some of our members may be more experienced than others, but are unable to commit to the time needed for training in our competitive squad. 

The Development Squad is a great introduction to competitive rowing at novice level. Our members typically start their training in Autumn and train over the winter period, up until the regatta season starts in April the following year.  

We cater for members who wish to compete in sweep rowing and/or sculling. We have a broader range of technical ability than our competitive squad, but with the flexibility for those who want to progress at a more comfortable pace.

There is an expectation that development squad members will participate on a regular basis in order to secure their placement for competitions and racing events. A training program is run by our coach including weekly outings on the water with some fitness training on land. Most of our members are able to follow a development program that fits around their own personal commitments, with outings held every weekend and selected weekday evenings during the summer.

The general running of the club is very much a team effort and we ask our members to volunteer some of their time in helping others. All our squad members have something to offer and we embrace the team effort that leads us to be successful in competitive rowing. 

Squad Tiers

Most experienced rowers will look back to their time as a novice and say that winning their first pot was a big milestone to achieve. More people are rowing at a novice level than any other league in the sport. For some, rowing for a couple of seasons before reaching the stage of a de-novice is perfectly normal and shouldn't be regarded a setback.

Our primary goal is to bring success to all our squad members but with the flexibility to train at a pace that they feel comfortable with. 

We don't enforce a tiered structure to the squad. However in order to create a fairer playing field to our members, we carefully select the teams for racing and competition based upon personal progress and commitment made to our training program. Our members naturally fall into place whereby some of the squad members can often reach the stage of a de-novice within the first season.