Changing the Lives of Young
People Through Rowing

Success Stories

Kind words from a Making Waves participant’s parent

I wanted to give you feedback in regards to the way rowing has affected our daughter.
The last 5 years have been very trying for our family, not only did we have to deal with moving interstate during Covid 19, but our oldest daughter was trying to do so during mid senior year. Trying to match interstate curriculums was almost impossible but we did the best we could with what we had available to us at the time.
This left our girls feeling quite unsettled and out of sorts. They struggled to find a rhythm with school and initiating a new friend circle..
Our youngest daughter felt like she did not belong, and did not fit in no matter what sport she tried.
At the start of this year she came home from school mentioning that they were doing rowing with the school, and was keen to give it a go. After the experience ended for the term, she expressed how much she enjoyed it. We encouraged her to enquire with her sports teacher to see if there was anywhere she could continue the sport outside of school. He offered her a Making Waves camp flyer to register for the holiday rowing camp.
Understandably on day one she was extremely nervous, a little out of her comfort zone meeting other kids, she didn’t know how it was going to play out, but she persevered and we are so glad that she did.
She has only been rowing for a short amount of time, but has since developed a love for the training and recently started competing also.
Not only has rowing helped her physical journey, but also her school journey.
We recently received an email from her school, stating that they have noticed a significant difference in her character and improved effort in school.
As parents we’re are so proud of the improvements we’ve witnessed in multiple areas of her life. No parent wants to see their child struggle.
This sport has given her better direction and focus, and we have noticed now that she has no issues with setting and achieving her goals.
We are really grateful for the opportunity that Making Waves Program and Rowing WA have made available to the area, and hope it continues to change other children’s lives in the same way it has for our family.

This participant is now consistently competing at WA All Schools regattas, with successful results! They have joined a rowing club and have fully immersed themselves in the rowing community.

Statement from the Deputy Principal of Youth Futures Community School

Youth Futures Community School Midland works with at risk teens and young people who have been unable to work in mainstream education due to a variety of reasons. The school works hard to provide individualized educational opportunities for these young people and provide them with the second chance they need to succeed.
One of our primary goals is to expand the social and emotional skills of the students, with a large focus on resilience. We do this by finding activities that challenge our young people and put them in positions they may not be used to, have not experienced or have been apprehensive to attempt. Whilst compiling the list of activities I remembered the amazing Making Waves program I had experienced while at another CARE school in the Southern region of WA. I instantly put in an application for Youth Futures to be considered for inclusion in the program and we were lucky enough to be accepted.
The cohort of young people that has been attending the program expanded from three or four through to a solid ten young people weekly. The sessions then got so big we doubled and bought two lots of young people for inclusion and involvement in the program. Seeing the at risk young people doing something that they had never been offered before, working with them when the session got hard or they fell into the water was a great learning opportunity for them. But the greatest joy from the Making Waves Sessions was the extraordinary coaches and how they were patient, empathetic and understanding as to the time it was taking some of the young people. This was truly inspiring.
The Youth Futures Community School Midland, myself as an educator, the staff and students enjoyed the Making Waves sessions and are excited to get involved again in the coming terms. The development in the young people due to the program and its coaches is untold and is something that needs to not only continue but to be expanded to help more at risk young people who strive for that second, third….fifteenth chance.