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For Erin, sport had often meant having to work around the things that made it harder to join in.

She lives with cystic fibrosis, which can affect her breathing and had made some activities—particularly those centred on running—difficult to take part in alongside her friends. She still wanted to be involved in after-school sport, but sometimes found herself helping the teacher rather than participating because she worried about falling behind.

Then Erin joined an Active Row Bristol after-school indoor rowing club.

At first, she was unsure whether rowing would be another activity where she could not keep up. Her coach, Hannah Cooper, showed her that she could row in time with her friends while controlling her own pace and effort. Everyone could take part in the same session, even though each young person was working at a different intensity.

“The following week, she was rowing before the session had even started,” Hannah remembers.

For Erin, that made a real difference.

“Rowing is great because I can hang out with my friends,” she says.

Indoor rowing gave Erin an accessible way into sport, but it also opened up a path to the water. With the health considerations linked to her condition, this needed to be approached carefully. At her first school on-water session, Erin initially expected to watch from the bank. Instead, Hannah involved her in helping to coach the group—a valued role which kept her at the heart of the session while they explored what could safely be possible next.

Working with Erin and her mother, Hannah developed a plan for her to cox a stable quad. Coxing allowed Erin to be an active member of the crew through communication, decision-making and leadership, while keeping risk to a minimum.

Erin thrived. She described having “the best time ever” and went on to cox her school crew to second place at the Bristol On Water Festival.

Her confidence continued to grow. During Active Row Bristol’s summer Open Club sessions, Erin began rowing in the stable quad too. She now attends Open Club each Monday and her school rowing club every Tuesday, rowing or coxing according to how she feels on the day.

“Being able to do this with my friends is the best part,” she says.

The change has been about much more than learning a new sport. Erin is now more willing to try new things and more positive when she encounters a challenge. She is no longer asking whether she will be able to join in; she is thinking about what her crew can achieve together—including their ambition to beat the boys’ stable quad at Open Club.

Erin’s experience shows what inclusion can look like in practice. With thoughtful coaching, family involvement and the willingness to adapt, a young person who had sometimes watched from the sidelines has found a place in the crew: rowing, coxing, competing and returning week after week.

“It’s amazing I get to go rowing every week—and sometimes during lessons.”

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