Rowing Together For Healthy Minds Launches

We've talked about mental health before here at AllMarkOne and firmly believe that combatting the stigma surrounding this topic is so important, particularly amongst young people. We've shared real life experiences of rowing with mental health issues, discussed dealing with failure in sport, and  spoke to GB rower Sam Courty about the highs and lows of sport. Today, we headed down to Imperial College Boat Club because we want to talk about the launch of a not-for-profit campaign: Rowing Together for Healthy Minds. 

Rowing Together for Healthy Minds was founded by a group of university students with the goal of changing the way the rowing community thinks about mental health. 

This month marks two years since René Zamudio, a cherished friend, brother, and son, tragically took his own life. René was a former member of Bristol University Boat Club and later Imperial College Boat Club. Last year, these clubs raced at Quintin Head in special vests to celebrate the memory of someone who touched so many. This year,  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. Suicide is now the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.

We are RTHM.
We are a mental health campaign for rowers.
We want to turn up the volume discussing mental health.

RTHM aims to do this by:

• -  Partnering with boat clubs across the UK. Whilst our main target is student rowing clubs, we are open to all.

• -  Selling our Rival Kit universal charity tech tops. These high-quality tops will be worn by athletes from all clubs at races throughout 2019 including BUCS Head and Regatta, Quintin Head and the Head of the River Races. They’re available now on the Rival Kit website.

• -  Supplying a free poster to all affiliated clubs that outlines the club’s commitment to prioritising themental health of its athletes.

• -  Donating all profits to our partner charity, Mind. They offer information about mental health and provide support to anyone affected by these issues.

• -  Inform and educate others on mental health via our social media accounts @rthm_uk on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

We’ve had a huge response from clubs already affiliated, selling over 500 tech tops in our first order, andnow want to spread our movement further. Do you row for a club that would like to join the campaign? Get in touch via email at rthm.ukmind@gmail.com or via our Instagram & Twitter accounts.

We all need to make small actions to open up the conversation about mental health. This can help us understand what mental health really is, how to spot the symptoms and how to help someone in need. Mental health issues can affect everyone, and sometimes it's the last person you would expect. Please join us in supporting RTHM.

Check out the awesome RivalKit tech tops shown in the images above. Tops are only £13, and all profits are being donated to Mind. We want to see as many young athletes in the next few weeks wearing them with pride. If we snap a photo of you racing in one of the RTHM tech tops, we'll send you the free watermarked digital image. All you have to do is tag @allmarkone & @rthm_uk and use #rowingtogetherforhealthyminds & #allmarkone in the caption.

If you are worried about yourself or someone you might know who might be struggling with mental health issues, we encourage you to talk to those close to you, and head to www.mind.org.uk/ for information and support.

RTHM is not a registered charity but is an official partner with Mind and all profits will be donated to Mind.

Lucinda Douse and the AllMarkOne Team