Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st December 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Keep Lymington Rowers Afloat - Renew + Reach More
Lymington, United Kingdom
Aim
LARC is pulling together to raise funds so we can expand and get more of our community afloat - because life is better on the water.
Who are we?
Help Lymington Rowing Club Stay Afloat – Upgrade Our Boats, Build Our Future
Lymington Rowing Club has been part of our coastal community for nearly 150 years, bringing people together through friendship, fitness, and a shared passion for the water. Our Club is open to all - we have members of all ages and abilities and everyone is welcome whatever their rowing ambitions.
Read some of the things our members have to say about why they love the club so much and what it has done for them.
"The club community and support have been life changing for my family, allowing my children to feel safe, nurtured and gain valuable life skills"
"Rowing is the only sport I have found, where I can truly be in the moment and switch off from everything else that might be going on in my life"
"It has given me opportunities that I never imagined"
"I've found an incredibly supportive community"
"You develop team work skills and get to meet lots of different people"
"It's given me a focus and a great group of friends"
"Start as soon as possible!"
Why are we crowdfunding?
Our club has grown rapidly in recent years and we want to continue to introduce more people from our community to the sport of rowing, whether they are learning to row for the first time, want to row just for fun and fitness or perhaps have ambitions to row at an elite level. To do that we need to invest in more equipment so we can get more people out on the water. We particularly want to help people in our community who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in rowing (or indeed any sport) to get involved.
1. Maintaining and investing in equipment
Our boats and oars have carried us through countless tides, and some of our existing equipment is in need of major refurbishment or replacement to keep our members rowing safely and competitively.
2. Making rowing accessible to all
We want to make sure that everyone in our community has the opportunity to get involved in this incredible sport. To this end we want to create a fund which can be available to help those who otherwise might miss out on sporting activities. For example, those for whom participation in sport would be a unaffordable luxury or perhaps children not in mainstream education.
What are we doing to raise funds?
In the last few years we have organised a number of fundraising challenges and events - a 24 hour row, a row around the Isle of Wight, a pre-loved clothes sale to mention just a few. We have been lucky enough to receive incredible support from friends of the club and the wider community and are asking again if you are able to help us in our next challenge.
The next challenge is for us to see if, as collective, we can keep the wheel spinning on a rowing machine for 72 hours and we're going to try to row 1,000km in that time.
ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
WHAT: A 72 hour rowathon
WHEN: Starting at 5pm on Thursday 27 November and finishing at 5pm on Sunday 30 November.
HOW: Working in teams, each section of our club will row for 24 hours before handing over to the next section. The Women's and Men's section will take the first 24 hours with our younger Juniors taking the middle 24 hours and the older Junior section bringing it home on Sunday.
WHERE: Very generously we have been allowed by the Dunford family to complete this challenge in one of their retail units. So you will find us at 28 Queen Street at the top of the High Street in Lymington.
Please come along and give the rowers some much needed support especially if you are already in town on the evening of Friday 28 November for the Christmas Lights Switch On. If you fancy a go, we will have some extra rowing machines available on site throughout the event.
We will post photos and video from the challenge on our Facebook and Insta and on our website at https://www.lymingtonrowingclub.org/headline-events during the course of the event.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All the funds raised will go towards
1. Our rolling programme for upgrading our aging fleet and investing in additional equipment so we can get more people afloat. We need to raise £30k every year to finance this.
2. A newly created fund to support participation by members of our community who would not otherwise have the opportunity to do so. We want to create a fund of £3k a year for this. This would enable us to fund 6 children to row for a year free of charge.
Community impact
Lymington Rowing Club has been an important part of our coastal community in Lymington for almost 150 years.
Today the club has approx 170 members. We are an inclusive club and our members come in all "shapes and sizes". Our youngest member is 13 and some of our older members are in their 80s. We have a large and vibrant junior section including a number of children being schooled outside of mainstream education and a growing number of neurodiverse children. For these children in particular, the club provides an essential opportunity for them to make friends and participate in sport. The skills our young rowers learn go way beyond the technical demands of rowing and fitness - they learn how to work together in teams and how to lead and mentor and develop less experienced rowers. Our adult section has a large and growing racing population who regularly compete in events locally, nationally and internationally and a recreational group who want to row just for fun, fitness and the mental health benefits which come from spending time on the water.
We want to continue to attract new members from across our local community so that more people can experience the joy of rowing. We are in the process of developing a schools programme to offer the opportunity to try rowing to local children who would not get the opportunity to try this sport. We are also particularly interested in opening up the opportunity to people in our community who may otherwise miss out on the opportunity to participate in sport - for example, for financial reasons or because they are outside of mainstream school. We are currently piloting a new programme which will be free of charge aimed at children who are homeschooled or not accessing mainstream education for other reasons. If successful, we plan to run this on a regular basis.
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