R4 – the 4th Rowers Conference is an annual meetup of rowing professionals taking place for the 4th time this year at Dorney Lake! R4 gathers coaches, sports scientists, regatta organisers and umpires and sports technology leaders with a passion for rowing and endurance sports.

The conference will focus on the topics of Coaching Culture, Data and Technology and Athlete Health and Performance. The full-day programme aims to achieve a 360-degree view of the important topics and issues in coaching and performance and injury prevention insights. Presentations and workshops are designed to examine the latest thinking and best practices to manage rowing teams and offer new perspectives to coaches and sports scientists. R4 is a unique opportunity to discuss the current state and developments in the sport with the most prominent professionals in sports within a relaxed, engaging and friendly environment.

Keynote Speakers

Johnathan Males , PhD

Accredited Executive Coach and Sport Psychologist
"How is coaching more than just teaching your sport to athletes?"

Mike Spracklen, OBE

Olympic Gold Medal Winning Coach
"How has my approach to coaching changed over my coaching career?”

Paul Thompson, MBE

Chief Coach Chinese Olympic Rowing Team
"Three countries, different people same problems... Yes or No?"

Workshop Speakers

We have a compelling group of Speakers across all three Themes:

Coaching Culture

Derek Holland - Binding a community through a school rowing programme
Dr. Chris Shamobrook - What if you were obsessed with building mental fitness first and endurnace second?
Sam Wells - Buildoing a winning culture from a losing one
Kieran Dews - Developing young talent into performance athletes

Data and Technology

Dr. Conny Draper - Is measuring the force on the gate misleading?
Prof. Steve Haake - How the use of technology has impacted sports performance
Adrian Cassidy - What should we be measuring if we really want to improve performance

Athlete Health

Dr. Mark Homer -
Dr. Nicola Brown -
Ian Wynne -

We also have 2 Special Workshops

Annie Vernon - Will be talking about her book MInd Games

Peter Wiersum - How to coach coxes