Durham rowers set to up their rate in state of the art racing boat
Crews from one of the north of England’s leading rowing clubs will
be upping their stroke rate in search of glory after securing funding
for a new state-of-the-art racing four.
Durham Amateur Rowing Club will be launching their new boat at a
special ceremony at the Club’s boathouse on the River Wear in the
city next Monday (25th February).
Its purchase has been funded with a £10,000 grant from local firm
Banks Developments, via its Banks Community Fund.
And the Club expects that the new equipment will give its crews an
even better chance of both achieving further success at high-profile
regattas, and of producing more oarsmen and women who will go on the
represent their country at the highest levels.
Founded in 1860, Durham Amateur Rowing Club draws its 200 members
from across the northeast, but predominantly from the Easington,
Sedgefield and Durham areas.
It runs male and female crews in all age groups, from juniors and
beginners to seniors and veterans, and also works closely with local
schools to provide opportunities for young people to try rowing and
to offer coaching to those that are identified as having potential.
Two of the Club’s recent alumni – Jessica Eddie and Ian Lawson – have
represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games, and the Club has high
hopes for a number of junior crews that are coming through the
ranks.
After completing a ten-year £1m fundraising programme to cover the
cost of a new boathouse, which opened last September, the Club’s
attention then turned to renewing its fleet of ageing vessels.
Secretary Barry Hudson says: "The boats that we have are well-used
and are beginning to suffer from wear and tear – and as we now have
fantastic new boathouse facilities, we wanted to find funding to
enable us to bring in boats that would do them justice and give our
crews a competitive advantage.
"The new boat will be available to all the Club’s oarsmen and
women, although it will predominantly be used in races by its senior
coxed men’s four, and it will make a tangible difference to our
ability to compete with bigger and better-funded crews at regattas
across the country.
"The arrival of the new boat has acted as a real motivating factor
for our senior coxed four – their training schedule has been stepped
up, and we’re focussed on qualifying for the main regatta at Henley
later in the year, which would be a real achievement.
"The funding we’ve received from Banks will make a real difference
to Club crews of all ages and abilities, and we are extremely
grateful for their support."
