Hi, I’m Florence. I’m a schoolgirl who was lucky enough to have rowing facilities at my school, so tried it out of curiosity, and really liked it. I’m not the best rower in the world, but I enjoy every moment on the water with the new friends I have made.

However, one thing stood out to me when we went to races with other schools…everyone was just like me. So, I started researching the sport and found a lack of social and ethnic diversity existed at all levels. And that gave me the idea for ‘Different Strokes’, to try to introduce more school children to a sport I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy. And along the way I have found three incredible Olympians who share my mission.

I’m Hannah Scott, an Olympic, World and European Champion rower representing Great Britain. I grew up in a small town in Northern Ireland and started rowing at my local club on the River Bann. There wasn’t much funding, the facilities were basic, and the club was run entirely by volunteers. The boats we rowed weren’t anything special either, but it gave me the chance to get on the water and be part of a sport I quickly came to value.

Rowing in that environment taught me to appreciate the sport for what it is — hard work, teamwork, and the challenge of trying to improve every day. We didn’t have much, but we made the most of it.

Since those early days, rowing has taken me around the world, representing Great Britain and winning Olympic, World and European titles. Alongside my rowing career, I studied at Princeton University in the United States. I care about Different Strokes as a programme because it gives children from every walk of life the chance to try rowing and see where it might take them.

Hi! I’m Vwairé, two time U23 World Medalist GB Rower and Concept 2 Ergo British Record Holder. I grew up in Brixton, a multicultural bustling community that didn’t get much exposure in sports, let alone rowing. I wasn’t an active child, so becoming an athlete was beyond my wildest imagination. Luckily for me, in Sixth Form I was encouraged to join the rowing team and the rest is history. 

Navigating the rowing community as a young Black Woman came with a handful of obstacles as all I ever wanted was to fit in. However, it taught me the most valuable lesson of all: what makes you different is your super power. This ethos became the foundation of my ‘why’ in rowing and it fuels me everyday. I am a strong believer that diversity breeds innovation and in a sport as dated as rowing, there’s no better place to start. 

The Different Strokes programme is the perfect embodiment of this. Providing opportunities to expand the sport and reach as many backgrounds as possible is such an exciting moment in the sport. Giving a safe space for underrepresented groups to explore what rowing has in store for them is truly a powerful essential for young people, because I know that’s what younger Vwairé would have needed.

Hi! I’m Eve, an Olympic, World and European medallist for Great Britain. I grew up in Amsterdam in a single-parent household, where my introduction to rowing looked quite different from the private-school route that many people in the UK associate with the sport.

In the Netherlands, sport isn’t typically run through schools. Instead, young people join local community clubs. Because those clubs are affordable and accessible, I was able to try rowing despite coming from a single-income household. Without that system in place, the sport may never have been within reach for me.

That opportunity changed my life. Rowing has since taken me all over the world for racing and training camps, and even opened the door to a full scholarship at the University of Iowa in the United States, something that would otherwise have been financially impossible.

In the UK, rowing is still closely associated with private schools and often circulates within a very small, privileged part of society. Access to equipment, facilities and coaching can determine whether someone discovers the sport at all. I know first-hand how easily my own journey could have looked very different.

The Different Strokes programme is an essential step towards creating the kind of access to sport that I grew up with, where background, income or school doesn’t determine whether you get the chance to get in a boat and see where it might take you. Giving more young people the opportunity to discover rowing, and everything it can offer, is something I feel incredibly proud to support.