We are very pleased to announce that we have been awarded a Sport England Grant to help fund our plans for the expansion of the club and to get more people enjoying the great sport of windsurfing. The grant of £10k coupled with a club contribution of £6.5k will be used to expand the club facilities and allow the club to offer basic training for new entrants to the sport with a view to increasing the club membership numbers.
Whilst many of you will already know about the granting of the award we have been restrained from formally announcing it as we did not have the new lease signed. Now that we have, we can implement the plans in full.
New Fanatic Viper Hire Scheme
Boards and Rigs
Part of our committment to the plan was to run taster sessions for members of the public to have a go at windsurfing and we have had 40+ people take advantage of our free taster sessions this year. We will be continuing with these next season and in addition running day training courses for those who want to take it further.
You will have noticed that we have board racks in the changing room block, that we have a new rescue boat and a new container for storing it. We made a start at constructing a new ramp and will be completing that as soon as long as the water level stays low. This is the clubs contribution to the development plan, now that we are able to spend the Sport England portion of our development budget our immediate plans are;-
- Purchase of 5 new beginner boards and rigs for the hire scheme to bring the fleet up to 6 beginner and 2 intermediate boards
- Purchase of 4 new boards and rigs for club training to bring the club kit up to 8 beginner sets.
- Training of up to 4 club members up to RYA Level 1 status to be able to provide taster sessions and basic instruction.
Nautix Polyethylene Boards and Rigs For Club Use
The club hire scheme will then have 6 beginner boards with rigs and 2 intermediate boards for new members to hire.
A bigger change to how the club operates will be the provision of club equipment.
We needed some teaching boards for taster sessions and training days and these are being funded by the Sport England grant, however when not being used for these activities the club kit will be available for everyone to use.
From next season people will be able to join the club without owning their own kit. We will have 8 beginner boards and various size rigs for members and their guests to use at any time. Experience has shown that the two boards currently in the rack were very often in use during the summer and we are are convinced that this will be an attractive proposition to those who come on one of our taster sessions and want to do more.