Cornwall Council: Community Chest Fund has provided £200 of match funding
A new training boat for Cadgwith Gig Club
Helston, United Kingdom
Aim
Cadgwith gig club are fundraising for a new plastic training boat to help us further support the health and wellbeing of our local community
Why we are crowdfunding
Gig rowing has many benefits beyond the physical health gained through exercise. The sport also provides a boost to mental health from social interaction, teamwork, and the joy of rowing on our beautiful Cornish coastline. The gig club at Cadgwith is an essential lifeline and community space for those who might otherwise be socially isolated in such a remote and rural area.
Our non-competitive 'social' rowing sessions are currently run on the periphery of our core competitive training. An extra training boat, and the kit to go with it, will allow us to run these sessions more often and at more suitable times. As a result, we hope to expand our social rower membership and provide better access to a unique local facility that benefits our entire community (find out more about the benefits below).
About our club
Cadgwith Pilot Gig Club was established in1981 and is based in the old lifeboat house at the centre of Cadgwith village. We are one of the oldest Cornish gig clubs and a core part of village life. The club provides year-round training and racing opportunities and runs several social events during the summer months. The club’s competitive crews regularly feature in the top groups at the world and county championships each year, and we are particularly proud of our junior crews who consistently perform to a high standard at junior rowing events.
How we’ll spend the money raised
We need your help to fund the purchase of:
- A new plastic (GRP) training gig- the primary reason for this Crowdfunder campaign!
If we manage to reach our initial target, we will begin fundraising for:
- A new set of training oars
- New seats
Community impact
Throughout the club’s existence, but especially since the COVID pandemic, we have supported social rowing (we call it 'row for fitness'). These sessions are aimed at rowers who want to stay fit but may struggle to commit to the large amount of training a competitive crew demands. The low impact sessions are increasingly popular and attract rowers of all ages, abilities and fitness levels.
We aim to cater for everyone who might benefit from the fantastic sport of gig rowing, but may not get the opportunity to train regularly. We recently sent out a questionnaire on local facebook pages to judge how popular social rowing sessions might be. We received 45 replies in just 2 days!
Responders came from all backgrounds, including:
- Busy parents who need a mindful break a couple of times a week
- Retirees who want to stay active and social
- Isolated rural workers who seek social connection
- People who have never done exercise or sport, but want to start in a friendly, low-pressure environment
Our new training boat will support our community through:
- social connection and shared interests
- improved physical health and fitness
- new experiences, exploring our coastline from a different angle
- improved self confidence and body image
- improved mental health
- improved resilience through coaching and technical feedback
Our goal is to facilitate and expand social rowing at Cadgwith gig club by providing better training equipment and a more appropriate training timetable. We intend to monitor our impact by keeping a record of the number of social members we gain over time, including their background and motivation for rowing. We will be regularly asking them for qualitative feedback regarding their enjoyment of rowing and its effect on their physical and mental health.
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. We appreciate any help you can give from 1p to £10,000!
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. Get something back for your donation by choosing one of our reward packages.
- £40 for a limited edition CADG window/car sticker
- £450 to join us for a corporate teambuilding rowing experience*
- £1000 to have the name or logo of your company printed on the new boat*
*Contact us at [email protected] if you would like more information.
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe even a sponsored row– use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know or email the club direct. Every little helps!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 6th August 2026 at 7:55pm