When Penny Chuter, who has died aged 82, began to mess about in a rowing dinghy as a toddler and with water sports as a teenager, rowing clubs were for men only. The European Championships and the Olympics were open only to men, and the council of Britain’s Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) hardly ever saw a woman at its table.
Now clubs welcome female members. The world championships and the Olympics offer equal numbers of open events for women and men (as does the Henley Royal Regatta), and the headcount of women who row has grown enormously in schools, universities, clubs, competitions and worldwide.
