Go-Race Indoors is a partnership initiative from the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) and Concept 2 to encourage youngsters into rowing and getting fit and healthy at a series of 50 local indoor rowing competitions around the country. Rachel Hooper from the ARA explains how the series aims to do that:When Project Oarsome began four years ago, few people could have foreseen quite how much fun would be had using indoor rowing machines and the innovative ways in which it would be done. With the structure of the ARA's dry start scheme, teachers at Project Oarsome's 100 state schools have had the freedom to further develop an endless supply of different ways to use rowing machines. Lessons including 'ergo golf', 'the light bulb challenge' and 'staying alive' have given inspiration to even the most unenthusiastic of PE lesson attendees. Those children, for whom the words physical education used to make their imagination go into overdrive thinking of excuses, now look forward to getting fit and healthy. Maxine Tomkins, a PE teacher at PO School Djanogly in Nottingham commented 'Having indoor rowing as part our curriculum sport has made us aware of the potential of so many of the kids who just weren't interested in traditional team sports.'Through Project Oarsome, every club was provided with four Concept 2 rowing machines to share between their partnership schools. Having seen the huge health benefits of indoor rowing, and with the help of funding bodies such as Awards for All, some have developed banks of Indoor Rowers to the point of providing dedicated indoor rowing rooms. Supporting this increased activity, October 2003 saw the launch of Go-Race Indoors at the British Indoor Rowing Championship. Go-Race is an initiative from the ARA in partnership with Concept 2, encouraging schools to work together organising a series of indoor rowing events. Between March and May 2004 there are over forty race dates set for children who have become involved in indoor rowing through Project Oarsome. Go-Race Indoors is aimed at 11 to 18 year olds and uses the ARA recognised race distances of 2 minutes for year 7s, 3 minutes for year 8s etc and so on. 2,000m will be standard for years 11 and 12. These distances will be the core of the competition but in supporting the philosophy that indoor rowing is fun many schools have added other skill-based events to their race day programme. The competitions will use e-row technology, as seen at the British Indoor Rowing Championship. With thousands of children eagerly looking forward to their opportunity to perform at Go-Race Indoors, there is a growth of opinion in the young rowers that indoor rowing is not only an excellent form of exercise but also great fun.For further information on Go-Race Indoors please contact [email protected] or log on to either http://www.therowingcompany.com or http://www.ara-rowing.org for reports and results.