A Boat For Everyone

Aim

OUR CLUB IS UNIQUE! 60% of our members are women aged 50+. We hope to buy a new lightweight boat, easily carried by a female crew of four.

Who are we?

We are a relaxed friendly Rowing Club, based in Beccles on the beautiful River Waveney, which flows along the county boundary of Suffolk and Norfolk. Established in 1989 our membership remained relatively small, and following the Covid 19 pandemic we were finding it difficult to keep our heads above water (excuse the pun!) However, since 2022 our enthusiastic and dedicated core membership have increased numbers by running Learn to Row Courses, with great success! As we build on this success and our accessibility as a club, our old quad rowing boats are too heavy for the majority of our members to safely lift.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are raising funds in order to purchase a new lightweight coxed quad. This type of boat enables more people to experience the thrills of being out on the water and, the inclusion of a coxes seat means that steering the boat does not fall to one rower, which requires an increased skill level. Having a lightweight boat would enable crews to lift the boat in and out of the water safely without the need of assistance from other members, meaning more crews could have more outings throughout the week. 

We are lucky enough to have secured funding from Sport England for the amount of £7,500 which with our aim of raising an additional £7,500, will meet our overall target of £15,000.

How we’ll spend the money raised

A new coxed lightweight quad with the necessary set of blades (oars) costs in the region of £15,000. We are lucky enough to have secured funding from Sport England Therefore we are looking to raise a total of £7,500, which with the funding from sport England will produce our desired target of £15,000.

Community impact

Beccles Rowing Club membership is diverse and inclusive, with a broad reach of members throughout the local community. The benefits of taking physical exercise are well known for our bodies and also for our mental health. Exercise taken outside increases these benefits, and we are especially lucky to call the beautiful stretch of the River Waveney as our Rowing Club home. As our membership expands so does our interaction with the local community and our aim to introduce these positive benefits to as many people in the area as we can.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made