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The National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships took place at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London on Friday. The SCC was represented by over 40 Sea and Royal Marines Cadets from London, Southern and Eastern Areas with cadets travelling from Scarborough, Salisbury, Medway, Walton on the Naze, Newham, Southend, Rickmansworth, Newham, Chiswick, Kingston, Beckenham and Chislehurst and Sidcup to take part, along with their team managers, supporters and drivers. This year we had a group of cadets from the recently formed Medway Victory Unit - TS Temeraire which is a CEP Unit in Kent.

NJIRC is a hugely popular event with over 2000 rowers taking part from schools, rowing clubs and other organisations across the country.

Commander James Nisbet Area Officer London came to give his support with the London Area Training Manager Cliff Lewis. Also, at the event was Olympic Medal Winning Rower Lt Cdr Pete Reed OBE RN who took pride in showing his winning medals to the cadets.

Although there were no SCC medal winners on the day in either the single or relay races all of the cadets gave their all and behaved impeccably throughout racing against some top-flight rowers.

Huge BZ to all of the cadets that took part and thank you to all of the adult volunteers who gave up their time to facilitate their cadets taking part.

Little did Rachel know when she joined Sea Cadets at 14 that it would lead to her landing her dream job as an adult. Here's her story...

I first joined the Sea Cadets in 2012 when I was 14 years old. I stayed with Staines Sea Cadets until I turned 18 and it was time to go to University, where I transferred to Welwyn & Hatfield Sea Cadets as a member of staff.

The experiences and qualifications I gained through the cadets have assisted me in getting to where I am today.

Through the cadets, I learnt to kayak. I got through to the National Regatta and came away with gold medals. I became a paddlesports instructor and went on to teach the cadets what I had been taught when I was their age. Becoming an instructor through the cadets helped me get a job in a Watersports Activity Centre, Stanborough Park, close to Uni and Welwyn Cadets, where I teach kayaking, rafting, stand-up paddle boarding and team building sessions for corporate companies, schools and groups. Similar to the Sea Cadets, but on a much larger scale.

As part of Welwyn cadets I had the opportunity to get more qualifications in watersports such as windsurfing and sailing, and also went on to become a powerboat instructor and a higher level of kayaking coach. 

With the opportunities and qualifications, I gained from the Sea Cadets, and the experience I gained from my job at Stanborough Park, I have since been offered a job at a beach resort in Greece for the remainder of 2019 with a very popular holiday company.

I can’t express just how happy I am with my 14-year-old self for joining the cadets. If I had never joined the cadets, I wouldn’t have learnt to paddle. If I hadn’t learnt to paddle I wouldn’t have picked a University with a kayak club, with whom I have since travelled around the country finding the biggest whitewater I can paddle.  My paddlesports knowledge also meant I was voted as Chairman of the Uni Kayak Club for two years running. If I hadn’t picked the University I did, I wouldn’t have transferred to Welwyn cadets. If I hadn’t gone to Welwyn cadets, I wouldn’t have got the job at Stanborough Park. And finally, if that never happened, I wouldn’t currently be preparing to move to Greece to work as a paddlesports instructor, doing the job I love.

I have my dream job because I joined the Sea Cadets as a 14-year-old and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

If you're interested in becoming a Sea Cadet or a volunteer visit the Join Us section to find out more. 

Shannon tells us what she got out of Sea Cadets, and why girls should think about joining. 

I joined the Sea cadets when I was 11 because my nan and grandad were both in the Navy and they thought it was a good place to make friends and develop my confidence. I developed skills such as teamwork and commitment and it helped me to gain more confidence and leadership abilities.

In 2015, I was the North West area Navy Board Cadet, one of only six in the country. We were chosen for outstanding commitment, achievement and dedication. I represented all cadets at competitions, ceremonies and meetings. I was also selected to carry Nelson’s ensign at the national Trafalgar parade in London, which was a big highlight of my cadet career.

I am keen for other girls to join Sea Cadets. It’s a place where you are accepted and encouraged to learn and become a leader. There isn’t anything that girls can’t do, whether it’s taking charge of a rowing crew, being part of the football team or going shooting – it’s open to all.

Fundraising is a huge element of Sea Cadets. As a charity, we rely on the time and effort of people to go out and fundraise and on the generosity of the public to give what they can. I was inspired to see how much people gave, people we didn’t know. Even though the Sea Cadets are a charity, the cadets and volunteers endlessly fundraise for others such as the Royal British Legion, Macmillan cancer support and SSAFA.

Throughout my time in Sea Cadets, my confidence grew and I learnt I was good with people and I could talk to them, and they felt like they could talk to me. This sparked my passion to help people. I am now a student nurse at Edge Hill University, and loving every second. I would have never made it without the skills and support I gained through cadets. I am forever grateful.

For more information about joining Sea Cadets visit the join us section on our website.

It's our first challenge event of the year!

We have nine amazing runners taking on the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise money for Sea Cadets on Sunday 24 March.

To support these incredible runners we’re looking for enthusiastic cheerers to join us and help them all cross the finish line.

Join us for a day that celebrates the history of our capital, with dance performances, bands and history tours along the route - all while cheering on our runners!

Timings

From 8.30am - Cheerers begin arriving at the Sea Cadets meeting and cheer point on Trafalgar Square
From 9.30am - The half marathon starts! We will be cheering on the runners from our cheer point on the Square
From 11.00am - Cheerers move to the Sea Cadets photo cheer point on Whitehall to see our runners cross the finish line
Between 11.30am - 13.30pm - Runners begin finishing the half marathon and will join us at the Sea Cadets finishing point on The Mall

Meeting and Cheer Points

To celebrate London’s ‘Grand, Quirky and Hidden’ history, we’ll have our very own Sea Cadet point on Trafalgar Square commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar, where we'll meet our runners before they start and cheer them on along the route.

We will also have our Sea Cadets photo cheer point along Whitehall from 11.00am, so we’ll see our runners heading towards the finish line!

Once our runners have finished you can join us to congratulate them on completing their half marathon, at the Sea Cadets finishing point on The Mall.

Take a look at the map below to see where all our meeting and cheer points will be for the day!

Get involved here and join us whenever you can on the day. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Becky at getinvolved@ms-sc.org