Kingsley and Cooper Announced as Keynote Speakers for RowOn Coaching Conference

Row Ontario and AMP Rowing are pleased to announce that Louise Kingsley and Arshay Cooper will be the two keynote speakers for the 2025 RowOn Coaching Conference.

Cooper came to prominence in the rowing community as the protagonist of the film A Most Beautiful Thing, and is a bestselling and award-winning author, motivational speaker, and a 2x recipient of the Golden Oar award for his contributions to the sport of rowing. Kingsley is the current Director of Performance with the Great Britain Rowing Team and has a wealth of experience in rowing, including success as a coach and running GB’s performance pathway and Paralympic programmes.

“Louise and Arshay are two dynamic figures in the rowing world, and we are very much looking forward to hearing their keynote speeches at the Conference,” said Andrew Backer, CEO of Row Ontario. “We have always tried to have a variety of speakers and topics at the Conference, and we think these two keynotes will deliver very different, but similarly insightful and meaningful speeches to the Ontario rowing community. With our Conference partners AMP Rowing we’re thrilled to bring two more exciting keynote speakers to the Conference.”

The RowOn Coaching Conference will take place December 6-7 in Thorold, ON at the Four Points By Sheraton – St. Catharines Niagara Suites. The Conference will be a two-day event for the first time in 2025, and tickets will be available for both one and two-day options. HUDSON Boat Works, who has supported and partnered with Cooper for several initiatives in the past, will be sponsoring the keynote speakers at the Conference.

Kingsley is the first female to lead British Rowing’s Performance programme and has more than 20 years’ experience in the sport. Prior to her Director of Performance role, she was the Deputy Director of Performance Pathways and Paralympic Programme, leading the GB para squad to two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. She then acted as Interim Director of Performance until her current appointment in December 2021. Following a successful international coaching career – she coached GB’s first junior women’s World Championships medal in 1993 – Kingsley joined the GB Rowing Team in 1997 as High Performance Coach for New Talent and went on to coach at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Cooper grew up on the West Side of Chicago in a community surrounded by poverty. In 1997, he joined (and later became captain of) the country’s first All-Black high school rowing team at Manley High School, an experience that changed his life. His book (also titled A Most Beautiful Thing) was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won the 2020 Nautilus Award. Cooper is the founder of the National Award-Winning Non-Profit, the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, which introduces thousands of under-resourced youth to the sport of rowing. He has just written his second book, Let Me Be Real with You, which will be released in October of 2025.

“AMP Rowing is excited to once again partner with Row Ontario to bring the RowOn Coaching Conference to the rowing community,” said Al Morrow, partner with AMP Rowing. “Starting with these two keynotes we have another impressive lineup of speakers planned for the Conference. We’re always trying to improve the Conference every year and we think we’re in a good position to deliver another successful Conference this year.”

Stay tuned for more information on speakers, sessions, and how to register for the Conference in the coming weeks.