Thursday 21-02-2019 - 09:00

Bristol Student Launches Rowing Together for Healthy Minds

Over 100 clubs have signed up to mental health campaign led by students.

Rowing Together for Healthy Minds (RTHM) is a new student-led campaign to get the rowing community talking about mental health.

RTHM is led by Tommy Nicholson, Club Captain of University of Bristol Boat Club, and Jack Walsh, boat club captain at Imperial College.

RTHM aims to make a lasting impact on how the student rowing community views mental health.

The campaign started in memory of rower René Zamudio who took his life in January 2017. René learned to row during his undergraduate degree at Bristol, before continuing both his rowing and his studies at Imperial College.

Jack said that “René shone with confidence and charisma, and his death was a colossal shock, as for many similar cases, he was the last person you would think to be suffering from mental health issues.”

RTHM have partnered with Rival Kit, a student-founded sports clothing company based in Edinburgh. All participating clubs will wear the same tech top at races throughout the 2019 rowing racing season as a demonstration that something needs to change.

RTHM aspires to raise the profile of mental health in rowing, to inform athletes and coaches about the symptoms of depression and other disorders, and ultimately to make it easier for people suffering from these issues to reach out for help in future. 

Over 100 different rowing clubs have signed up so far. The campaign has extended beyond the student community with clubs across the UK and abroad signing up. Over 1,500 tops have been sold to date with all the profits from the tops going directly to Mind, the mental health charity.

Tommy explains:

“As well as the tops, we're producing a poster for clubs to display in training areas that includes a charter that clubs agree to - prioritising the mental health and well-being of its members above all.”

“We're working with British Rowing to get them to include a minimum amount of mental health training within every rowing club across the country. We aim to educate athletes and coaches through social media and provide more information to clubs.” 

RTHM is encouraging clubs to get behind the cause by:

• Becoming a partner to RTHM and committing to prioritising the mental health of club athletes;
• Having a well-being champion to spread the word about mental health throughout the club; and
• Promoting mental health awareness by displaying a poster at the club.

You can get in touch by emailing rthm.ukmind@gmail.com or via social media @rthm_uk.