Rowing club fundraises for new facilities

One of the oldest rowing clubs in England is fundraising to modernise and expand its facilities.

Henley Rowing Club in Henley-on-Thames was founded in 1830, but said its future was "uncertain".

The club is aiming to raise £1m through donations and grants to redevelop its boathouse and training spaces, increase its schools and community programmes, and make its facilities fully accessible.

Fundraising lead Jenny Wallace-Silva told the BBC the club was at "a bit of a crossroads".

The rowing club was formed the year after the first Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race was held at Henley.

It has its own junior division, with athletes going on to represent Great Britain at international sporting competitions.

But the club said its current setup, last upgraded in 1986, prevented it from generating crucial income, as it seeks greater financial sustainability.

Ms Wallace-Silva said: "We've outgrown the space. We're at capacity, so we can only serve our existing 300 .

"It's becoming really tired and outdated. The Henley Rowing Club name sounds really prestigious because we're in the heartland of rowing, but actually it's a charity, its volunteer-run, and so we do have very limited funds."

She continued: "Henley Rowing Club is quite a small rowing club... but it gets amazing results from a very small squad each year, and the sense of pride and self-confidence that comes from rowing is brilliant to see through the young people.

"We could carry on doing what we're doing and doing it well with results, but importantly we want to broaden that outreach to give more kids an opportunity."

If the club hits its target, including funds from corporate sponsors and private donors, it will be match funded with government initiatives to reach a total of £2m.

Franco, 15, who is Ms Wallace-Silva's son and has been at the club for two years, said he had benefitted from his time there.

"It builds all your skills like leadership and resilience, and it keeps you disciplined," he said.

He added that an expanded premises "would be great because our athletes are now getting so many results" at events such as the National Schools' Regatta.

"So if we had the facilities to our rowing athletes it would get even better," he said.

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