TEAM GB Rowing coach Robin Williams MBE visited King’s Ely to share advice and skills with some of the region’s top rowing coaches.
The day-long workshop at King’s Ely’s Old Palace saw Robin, who has coached at all levels including men’s, women’s, lightweights, heavy weights, under 23s and juniors, inspiring nine rowing coaches from the Eastern Region, including King’s Ely coaches Mark Beer and Jerry Dale.
Robin is one of the country’s most successful and talented coaches at all levels, from club coaching to the Olympics and World Championships. As a competitor, he won Silver and Bronze medals at the 1988 and 1989 World Rowing Championships and he has also won three Henley Royal Regatta medals.
His experience spans several decades as a coach, most notably 10 years with Cambridge University winning seven Boat Races and 12 years with Team GB Rowing, winning a Gold medal with the lightweight men’s coxless four in 2007.
From 2010 to 2016, Robin coached the women’s coxless pair of Heather Stanning and Helen Glover to Gold medals at the Olympics in London in 2012 and in Rio in 2016, as well as at European and World Championships.
Robin writes coaching articles for publications such as Rowing and Regatta and Advanced Rowing. He has spoken at international conferences for FISA, World Class Rowing and at national conferences in Spain and Canada. He is a charismatic speaker and the coaches benefited from his experience and passion for the sport. After a fantastic day, they went away eager to put the things they learned into practice.