Row for Joe
News
Row for Joe: honouring BSU Rowing Club member’s courage with 24-hour challenge
Thursday, 15 May, 2025Last week at British Universities and Colleges Regatta (BUCR), tragedy struck the BSU Rowing Club community. As their boat crossed the finish line, crew member Joe’s father sadly passed away.
His passing shook the crew, the club, and everyone who witnessed the heartbreak unfold. In the face of this unimaginable loss, Joe made the decision to get back in the boat with his crew and row again to finish the event.
This demonstration of resilience and courage by their crew member was honoured by the Club this week, when they took to the rowing machines to 'Row for Joe'.
From 10am on Wednesday 14 May to 10am on Thursday 15 May the BSU Rowing Club completed a 24-hour rowathon in the Commons Atrium at Newton Park Campus.
The Club dug deep to show their support for Joe, to honour his father’s memory, and to raise money to help Joe continue on his rowing journey.
Members of the club took shifts on the rowing machines, livestreamed the event, and invited the BSU community to join in.
Reflecting on how the experience has brought the Club closer together, BSU Rowing Club President, Patrick McLoughlin said:
“We were at one of the biggest rowing events in Europe for students [...] we had the support of pretty much every University clapping us on as we did the race. It’s definitely brought us all together in ways that we didn’t think it would - finishing the event, and finishing the race, being back here and rowing all together again.”
Talking about the key motivator behind the 24-hour event, BSU Rowing Club member, Emily Ions added:
“We just want to shine a light on how courageous and brave it was for Joe to come back and finish that race and hopefully that will inspire other athletes or other individuals facing similar tough situations.”
The 24-hour row might have been successfully completed, but you can still support Joe and the BSU Rowing Club in their efforts by donating online via their Go Fund Me page or sharing the Club's efforts via their Instagram page @BathSpaRowingClub.