Anyone who says that young people today are lazy should meet the members of the University of Worcester Rowing club.

Since it was founded by popular demand in 2004, the club has doubled in size, going from 22 members to 46 and from two boats to four. It has enlisted the services of a full-time coach and gained two sponsors.

The members have also joined together to set a number of world records and raised plenty of money for charity, and their most recent event was not one to be attempted by the feint-hearted.

At the beginning of March two single sex teams made up of ten sportsmen and women started on their attempt to break the world record for the longest continual row using an indoor rowing machine.

The rules were simple, one participant must be on the rowing machine at all times. If the machine stopped, the record failed. Only the original ten members were allowed to take part regardless of injuries or illness.

This meant the rowers were sat on the Concept 2 rowing machines for 24 hours a day throughout the challenge.

To beat the record the men's team had to row the distance between Worcester and Athens over 11 days, a total of 3,250 km, which they did with time to spare. The women had to row 2,000km in seven days.

Before the event, Jamie Wilton, head coach, explained: "Though our club is one of the newest and smallest in the country and is funded entirely by students, we punch well above our weight in national competitions, so to smash this record would be such an amazing achievement."

Both were aiming to beat records set by teams from the US. In the end the men managed to complete 3,620km in 264 hours, while the women managed 2,000,026m in 176 hours.

As well as the record for the longest continual distance travelled on an indoor rowing machine, the women managed to beat the world record for the Million Metres Row, completing the distance in 86 hours, 16 minutes and 24 seconds.

However, it wasn't just personal pride which was at stake for the rowers. All funds raised were split between the club, which relies on donations for funding, and the Worcester Snoezelon.

The project supports over 450 families from four different counties who are dealing with learning disabilities. Facilities available at the centre include multi-sensory rooms, hydrotherapy, accessible music making, soft play, creative arts and a sensory garden. James said that the Snoezelan

"does such fantastic work within the local community, and is a charity that we feel deserves more recognition".

Jane Campbell, from the centre, praised the team for their efforts. She said: "Everyone at the Worcester Snoezelen centre would like to say a really big thank you. This is a fantastic way to raise funds and we appreciate the amount of hard work the students and organisers have given to this event."

With such ambitious targets having been met, and three world records already broken, Worcester Rowing Club could be one to watch in the future.