Norfolk Community Fund has provided £400 of match funding
Young Rowers Club Uniforms & Competition Shelter
Downham Market, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Aim
We would like provide a central pool of Club uniforms for junior members to use for racing and a shelter for rowing events.
WNRC is a community amateur sports club, aiming to make the sport of rowing accessible to everyone. The club was established 12 years ago and now has over 80 members from age 11-85yrs. The volunteer committee & coaches aim to enable safe and enjoyable rowing & training in line with each member's aspirations from recreational to racing.
Rowing is a sport that offers physical, mental, and social benefits. It fosters teamwork, discipline, resilience, and a profound connection with nature. WNRC aims to make rowing available to all Juniors who wish to take part, and has run taster sessions and Learn to Row courses for cohorts of children from the local high school, Ranger girl guides, and other local schools. To enable participation, WNRC Junior subs are set affordably and offer up to three 2hr coached training sessions per week all year round in club boats, including all insurance, equipment & coaching launches.
We would like all Junior members to be able to reach their aspirations through training & wish to support club Juniors competing in racing events around the region and beyond. Juniors can train in any suitable clothing, but matching kit in club colours is a requirement at racing events. Unfortunately, for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the cost of racing kit – such as custom-made all-in-one rowing suits or tops & shorts kit in club colours – presents a potential barrier to participation. Racing event rules require competing crews to wear uniform club kit, and this requires custom-made apparel in club colours. Due to kit expense and Juniors' growth rates, up till now most competing Juniors have borrowed racing kit from other members of the club in order to race.
We would like to purchase boys' & girls' sets of racing all-in-one rowing suits and short-sleeved performance rowing tops in club colours. This kit would be retained by the club and lent out to junior crews when they compete. Purchase of designated sets of kit for the Juniors to use will remove financial barriers for some families to allow their youngsters to consider racing, and will encourage the whole Junior squad to feel on an equal level.
Rowing competitions such as Peterborough Junior Championships often last all day, with numerous rounds of competing for different classes of junior rowers from 0800-1800. We would also like to purchase a club gazebo to provide shelter and a base for the Juniors when at such competitions. Up till now, the club has borrowed shelters when possible, but it would make a big difference to have a designated club gazebo that can be taken to all events.
This project successfully funded on 22nd April 2026