Paralympian fundraises to make Oxfordshire rowing more accessible

A Paralympic gold medalist and world record breaking rower has joined with local freemasons to raise thousands of pounds to help disabled people get into the sport.

Ben Pritchard, who triumphed in the men’s PR1 single sculls at the 2024 Paris games, helped Henley-on-Thames’ Regattas Lodge and Oxfordshire Masons raise £12,470.

The money has been donated to Love Rowing – the charitable arm of British Rowing which was set up to support more people to take part in the sport.

All of the funds will be spent in Oxfordshire, with the first investment paying for a new hoist at the City of Oxford Rowing Club, on the River Thames below Donnington Bridge.

Pritchard, from Wokingham in Berkshire, explained that the equipment would help people with additional needs to “access the water and try my sport which is pretty epic”.

“One of the big pillars in recovery from an accident, like my own spinal injury, is that sport is a great tool to get yourself back to living an everyday life,” he said.

Alongside “opening up access to the water”, Pritchard said the new equipment would “give them a place to go where they can feel safe and they can feel part of community”.