Head of Rowing

George learnt to row at the age of 13 he rowed for clubs until he joined Shrewsbury School to complete his A-levels. Here he was in the 1st VIII both years getting to the Friday of the Princess Elisabeth at Henley Royal Regatta both years and A finals of the CH 8+ at National schools.

George has rowed at Leander club in the mens high performance sweep team for the last three seasons (2023-25). Here he sat in the stroke seat of the Thames Cup 8 for Henley Royal Regatta in 2023. 

George got into coaching when at his first club Royal Chester RC where he helped at the summer learn to row camps. But after injury and illness  put a halt on his rowing career and aspirations George has stepped back from high performance rowing and decided to put his energy into the development of the next generation of potential athletes. 

After being at the RGS for just over a year George took over as Head of Rowing and has clear goals for the program to excell. George is keen for rowing to be accessible to all and is keen to help everyone from learning to row all the way to trialling for GB.

If he's not out on the river coaching you can find George paddling about in his single. 

My name is Abigail Topp, I am 22 years old and I’m from Aberdeen, Scotland. I moved down to the area in 2021 to row at Leander Club as part of the high performance squad. I started rowing when I was 12 years old at Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association and instantly fell in love with the sport, especially the idea of being part of a team whilst getting to be with friends everyday. Whilst I was a junior rower I was selected to represent Great Britain three times, one of the vests being the Junior World Championships in 2019 at Tokyo, Japan which was an amazing experience to be a part of. Being part of the junior programme included teaching the younger generation how to row at summer courses, I really enjoyed doing this and knew this was a career I would like to go into. In 2019 I then went on to row for Robert Gordon University and study Sport Science for 2 years in Aberdeen as a Higher National Diploma. I have always had a passion for coaching and learning how to get the most out of athletes. 

The last three years being part of Leander Club have been very successful, including a silver medal at the Under 23 World Championships, 2 Henley Royal Regatta Finals and a win at Women’s Head on the Tideway. I hope to use this experience to coach the boys to a successful year whilst enjoying the process of working with friends to achieve their goals. 

Christy has been a professional rowing coach for 17 years:  one year at St Edward’s School as J14s' coach; five years with British Rowing as the Thames Upriver Regional Development Coach; nine years as Cheney School’s Head Coach; and four years as Falcon Boat Club’s Juniors’ Head Coach.  

Christy joined the RGS coaching team in August 2023, principally coaching J14s and J15s.

Christy learnt to row in Cambridge with Darwin College in 1997 and moved to Philadelphia (USA) in 1998 where she learnt to scull at Vesper Boat Club.  In 2002 she returned to the UK and sculled with Falcon for two years, Wallingford for 14 years and Marlow for six years.  

When not at coaching Christy continues to scull with Marlow Rowing Club most weekday mornings and races long distance masters events.

Alex learnt to row age 11 at Claires court school where he qualified for the Princess Elizabeth at Henley Royal Regatta. After leaving school Alex continued rowing at university where he studied a BSc in Sport Science.

Alex's passion for coaching was sparked during his time at university when he realised he wanted to use his love for the sport as well as his knowledge gained in his degree to help the next generation of aspiring athletes.

After joining the RGS coaching team in 2024, Alex has found working alongside the rest of the coaching staff and seeing the students develop as athletes and people masively rewarding. Now a large presence in the Learn to Row group, Alex wants to continue using his knowledge and passion of rowing to help the boys enjoy rowing and enable their successes.