Bosses at Oxford Brookes have said they are “appalled” by reports about the coaching practices of its rowing team.
Oxford Brookes University’s boat club has received criticism online after a document referred to as a “toughness sheet” was leaked.
An unverified message allegedly from a senior coach sent to the boat club’s men’s rowing team WhatsApp chat, seen by the Oxford Mail, addressed a leak of the team’s “personal info/toughness sheet”.
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It asked the person who shared an image of the document to “own up” so they could move forward, or face “a period of time away from training”.
An unverified image of the sheet itself showed a table with names of all the members categorised into sections, one of which was called “Sponge Bobs”.
Other examples on the list include “Put the pies down”, “Get a haircut. Toughen up. Get serious”, “Try harder stop asking so many questions”, and “Watching you row is like watching paint dry”.
At least 10 of the entries simply read “try harder”. Two of the team members were referred to as “Mr Floppy” and “Mrs Floppy”.
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A spokesperson for the university said: “Oxford Brookes is committed to maintaining an inclusive and respectful culture in every aspect of university life.
“The material that has been circulated online has appalled us.
"We are taking the concerns that have been raised about coaching practices at Oxford Brookes University Boat Club extremely seriously, and we are working with British Rowing to investigate and address those concerns.
“We are writing to members of the boat club to provide support and encourage them to come forward and report any concerns they may have to the university.”
The boat club said anyone who comes forward with concerns will be supported and their claims investigated, and advised they contact the university’s student welfare and support advice team.
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In a statement, British Rowing, the governing body responsible for the sport, said it’s aware of the concerns being raised with the coaching practices at the university and are working the institution to address them.
It said: “Creating a safe a respectful environment for everyone in the rowing community is our priority”.
It recommended that anyone with concerns speaks up and reports them to the welfare officer of its governance team.
Oxford Brooke’s Boat Club has a renowned team, with Olympians, world champions and national team rowers among its alumni.
Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson of Brookes won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the summer.
Brookes rowers Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, and Tom Digby, and coxswain Harry Brightmore also helped the British eight win gold at the games.
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