Greystoke Castle Canoe Polo Venue

Aim

We've been given use of a lake for canoe polo. Pitch & launching pontoon are installed. We need two referee's pontoons to run tournaments.

Who are we?

Penrith Canoe Club are a friendly, inclusive local canoe club, who teach kayaking through the fun sport of canoe polo. We have adult, youth and women's teams in regional and national leagues and players from beginners to GB squad members, because we are friendly and welcoming to all.

Why are we crowdfunding?

The club has been given use of a fantastic outdoor lake at Greystoke Castle. We have installed a pitch and launching pontoon and cleared a lot of pond weed! It's a great space and has boosted the number of polo players we can accommodate. To make this a truly special venue we need 2 referees pontoons alongside the pitch. We can then run tournaments (local, regional & national), youth development sessions and give our players, young and old, practical experience with their refereeing skills.

How we’ll spend the money raised

We'll buy 2 floating referee pontoons for alongside the pitch, at least 20m x 1.5m each. Total cost of this is £20,000. There are no installation costs as it will be done by volunteers. We are trying to raise £10,000 by crowdfunding, which Sport England will match fund. It will then create a canoe polo pitch in a fantastic venue in the North of England, to be used for years to come.

Community impact

As a now well established canoe club, we have developed canoe polo players from complete beginners to GB squad players. This has also required a big commitment from families as they have to travel to Manchester, Liverpool and beyond for tournaments. This venue will mean we can hold tournaments locally, removing the time and cost commitment barrier and broadening the reach of this fun sport.

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! All pledges are gratefully recieved but a pledge £20 will get you a free taster session at the club and a pledge of £500 or more will get you free club membership and pool fees for 1 year.

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 by 15th October 2026 at 10:40am