{"id":216494,"date":"2026-01-02T11:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216494\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:49:08","slug":"i-was-very-much-taken-by-surprise-york-city-rcs-phil-jones-on-british-empire-medal-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216494\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI was very much taken by surprise\u201d: York City RC’s Phil Jones on British Empire Medal award"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI was very much taken by surprise\u201d: York City RC\u2019s Phil Jones on British Empire Medal award<\/p>\n

Fergus Mainland caught up with the York City RC stalwart who has been awarded the honour for his services to rowing and young people in York<\/p>\n

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Celebration and reflection. Two words that encapsulate a warm glow that embraces the country during the festive period; celebrating the success of the past 12 months and reflecting on the triumphs and the moments that have made us.<\/p>\n

For a select group of individuals, the past month has been a restless wait, full of anticipation for the day the world can also celebrate their achievements and service.<\/p>\n

A letter swearing its recipient to a strict embargo means that for the month of December, the York City RC community have been blissfully unaware that they will be celebrating their stoic grandee, Phil Jones, as the bells herald in the new year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a testament to the impression that Phil has left on his athletes that this isn\u2019t the first time his coaching and volunteering have been recognised. In 2022, Phil won British Rowing\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award<\/a> for over three decades of outstanding contributions to York City RC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great surprise, almost shock really,\u201d explained Phil when reminiscing about opening up his letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t suppose many people get the British Empire Medal each year, and there are hundreds of other people in rowing and other volunteers who are at least, if not more worthy than I am. I was very much taken by surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very honoured. But I\u2019m very mindful of the fact that none of what I achieved would have been possible had it not been for the support from my family, particularly my wife, who had to put up with all the rowing things that I was doing for more than 30 years!\u201d<\/p>\n

Phil is rowing, and rowing is Phil. After discovering the sport while attending the University of Hull, Phil hasn\u2019t looked back. His family are also immersed in the sport; Phil has been a proud parent watching his son, Thom, race at junior GB Rowing Team trials and his daughter represent her country at the 2002 Coupe de la Jeunesse.<\/p>\n

Phil\u2019s award has been for his commitment to the juniors of York City RC. It\u2019s for his dedication to their development as athletes, but also their growth as individuals.<\/p>\n

In the picture above, Phil is photographed with Lucy Edmunds, Charlie McMahon, and Sally Downing. They are just a selection of some of the great athletes that Phil has had the pleasure of working alongside.<\/p>\n

Charlie raced for England in 2016, while Sally would row under the watchful eyes of Cristo Redentor at the 2015 Junior World Championships.<\/p>\n

Lucy would row at both the World Rowing U19 and U23 Championships, winning a silver medal at the latter before graduating from Yale and racing for Oxford University BC in the 2024 Boat Race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a picture that I\u2019m proud of because it shows three internationals in the same year.\u201d said Phil with a laugh. \u201cThese three people were really nice people. To have a photo taken with them was special. They were all very appreciative, the families were very grateful, and very supportive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat always compensates for the miserable mornings when it\u2019s foggy or wet, and you\u2019re getting up early \u2013 those are the high spots that make it all worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the build-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Coca-Cola gave the public the opportunity to nominate local heroes to participate in the Torch Relay. Phil was one of 8000 runners who lit up the UK with the Olympic flame, bringing communities together in a way that only that magical summer could.<\/p>\n

Having been nominated by one of his junior athletes, Phil\u2019s leg of the relay took him along the top of York\u2019s historic walls, finishing within a stone\u2019s throw of the boathouse that has given him a lifetime of memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only downside of it was they had a camera following the torch bearers the whole of the way. However, because I was running on the city walls, which are only four feet wide, there was no opportunity to record it on film! I\u2019m not bothered, though, as I have loads of pictures from that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

From being a Torch Bearer in 2012, to being York\u2019s Sporting Hero<\/a>, to his Lifetime Achievement Award, to his BEM, it\u2019s clear Phil\u2019s hard work and compassion spans generations.<\/p>\n

Until he recently stepped down, Phil led the York City RC junior coaching team. The club offered sessions seven days a week, sometimes two sessions a day, to ensure the 80-odd juniors that were on their books could enjoy the sport they loved.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Phil has helped York City RC to medals at the British Rowing Championships, the National Schools\u2019 Regatta (NSR), and qualified crews for Henley Royal Regatta. 2008 was a particularly fine vintage, qualifying two boats for the Fawley Challenge Cup before having two crews in the final of Championship Quads at NSR the following summer.<\/p>\n

With 30 years as club Secretary and 30 years as the organiser of the Small Boats Head under his belt, it\u2019s time for a change for Phil, who hangs up his coaching waterproofs after helping hundreds, if not thousands, of juniors discover the wonderful sport of rowing.<\/p>\n

First up, it\u2019s sourcing his finery for a Royal Garden Party welcoming BEM recipients to celebrate with each other. After that, free weekends can be spent making memories with his wife, Anne and his grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Congratulations, Phil, from everyone at British Rowing. Enjoy your time visiting grandchildren in Oxford and Scotland!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI was very much taken by surprise\u201d: York City RC\u2019s Phil Jones on British Empire Medal award Fergus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-216494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}