TRAGIC Leo Blockley's mum and dad are meeting sports minister Richard Caborn today (Thursday) to demand action over rowing safety.
They claim the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) are "dragging their heels" despite several life-saving recommendations from coroner John Pollard.
Ashton MP David Heyes is taking the couple to Westminster after he raised the issue during a Commons debate.
He criticised the ARA for persisting with their "light-touch, amateurish" approach in the face of "strong and clear messages from coroners."
Leo, an Oxford maths post-graduate, died in 2000 during a training trip near Barcelona with the university's lightweight rowing club.
The 21 year old, a former student of Hartshead High and Ashton Sixth Form, died when waves swamped his boat and he was swept away.
His parents Jane and Stephen won the right for a second inquest last year after new evidence came to light that the head coach Leila Hudson had been hung over on the morning of the tragedy.
Coroner John Pollard dismissed earlier claims Leo had himself been to blame for breaking the ARA's 'stay with the boat' rule after it was established its water safety code did not contain any such advice.
He also echoed the family's pleas for all rowing boats to have in-built buoyancy - a condition adopted by the international rowing federation FISA but not yet by the ARA.
Gary Harris, ARA chairman, said retro-fitting of buoyancy would present clubs with "potentially crippling" costs
But after investigating, Mr Heyes found it would cost from £100 up to £500 for a "bells and whistles" option.
"When set against loss of life I cannot accept the argument that those are crippling costs. Surely there is no more crippling price to pay than the death of a child," he said.
Mum Dr Jane Blockley, of Lees Road, Ashton, said: "Mr Pollard wrote to the ARA hoping to see a willingness to change. Instead they took a defiant stand and dismissed many of the recommendations out of hand. They are dragging their heels and it is clear they do not intend to make any significant changes. It could be somebody else's child next time.
"The ARA is funded by Sport England and it must ensure it fulfils safety criteria."
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Leo Blockley's memory is being extremely well served by his parents, who are an inspiration to at least some of us parents in the USA who love our children and also love rowing. We are inspired to improve conditions for our children, and thank God the Blockleys are out there stirring things up and providing the tools for improvement.
I say, well done.
Will King
Piedmont, California USA
One must applaud the level-headed wisdom, decency & determination of the Blockleys. Nothing can bring back their lost son, but in the best of human traditions they have fought for over 5 years to make British rowing's governing body implement a rational safety approach which will greatly reduce the chance of other fine sons & daughters dying so unnecessarily in this otherwise safe & wonderful sport. It reflects disgrace on the Executive of the Amateur Rowing Association that it has fought, & continues to fight, such a vicious & unscrupulous rearguard action against these thoroughly decent people, & against all who support their objectives. It is a scandal that denying responsibility for a defective safety policy & blaming the victim & all who seek beneficial change, rather than working with experts to put its own house in order, is the policy of choice of this publicly funded body which, as the Minister has noted, has a legal obligation to properly administer the safety of its sport.