Fifteen teams of rowers from schools in Hackney have raised over £11,000 to support young people taking up the sport.

Mossbourne students and other rowers from across the globe came together at London Youth Rowing's (LYR's) virtual arena on Saturday (January 29).

On rowing machines they managed a combined distance that could have taken them from Hackney to Prague in one day.

The Mossbourne Federation, a family of schools in Hackney, took part in the virtual Race The Thames fundraiser, organised by LYR.

Tom Wilkinson, head coach of rowing at Mossbourne’s Rowing Academy, said the teams were "outstanding".

He added: "At Mossbourne Rowing Academy our values align closely with London Youth Rowing – to expose young people to a sport that they might not otherwise get the chance to participate in."

Ham & High: Fifteen teams from Mossbourne schools took part in the challengeFifteen teams from Mossbourne schools took part in the challenge (Image: Tom Wilkinson at Mossbourne Community Academy)

Usually held in the Copper Box in the Olympic Park, the race took to screens and was held in the LYR Arena, a virtual platform where all team scores were collected from around the world and presented on the live map and leader board.

The platform also includes an open zoom channel of live racers, with all their stories which serve to motivate and inspire rowers throughout the race.

Teams of up to eight either raced the distance of the Tidal Thames (72km) or the River Thames (346km), over the course of one week or in a single day.

The teams from Mossbourne’s Rowing Academy took part in the Tidal Thames event, racing a total of 1100km in one day.

This year, they have raised over £11,000, a figure expected to grow in the coming week through match donations from businesses and other contributions.

All the funds raised will go to Mossbourne Rowing Programme in partnership with London Youth Rowing, to support young people to get active and develop life skills through the sport of rowing.

Last year’s fundraising efforts were put towards a brand-new boat for the Mossbourne Rowing programme - the first boat that is exclusively theirs to use.

Mossbourne Federation has an existing partnership with London Youth Rowing through their Rowing Academy, which has produced GB athletes and seen students go on to compete at top universities around the world.