Grant successes for London and South East clubs

More than £90,000 has been awarded to 24 organisations promoting activity on the tidal Thames and inland waterways in London and the south east, as part of a new programme led by the PLA. Of this nearly £24000 has gone to six sailing providers, all RYA Recognised Training Centres, in the PLA area:

Danson Park Adventures had an incredibly busy summer in 2021 with sailing and paddlesports courses all fully booked. £2000 will provide bursary support for coaching qualifications for young people on Danson Lake in Bexley and on the Thames.

Gravesend Sailing Club want to make sailing more accessible to the local community and have organised regular dinghy taster sessions. £2000 will support the training of Dinghy instructors, helping to get more people out on the Thames in Kent.

Herne Bay Sailing Club are an RYA Sailability and RYA training centre with proven success in working with people who are visually impaired and with people who are deaf. They intend to use £5000 to purchase equipment to support their work and keep costs as low as possible.

Islington Boat Club on the Regents Canal is a charity providing boating, personal development, health awareness and employment training to children, people with disabilities, schools and youth groups and the Upper Deckers club provides potentially isolated older people with free activity sessions. Canoeing, kayaking, powerboating, sailing, narrowboating, bell boating and mountain biking, as well as off-site days and residential trips, are all on offer. A grant of £4943 will provide crucial training for instructors and volunteers, supporting their continuation of their community engagement and the work of the charity in Islington.

Phoenix Canoe Club is located next to the Welsh Harp reservoir which borders Barnet and Brent. The canoe club is at Phoenix Outdoor Centre, which is an RYA OnBoard provider. They offer kayaking, sailing, canoeing, SUP and bell boating to a range of community groups and are currently working with Mencap, Mind, disability groups, and with organisations specialising in disadvantaged and ethnic minority participants and refugees. £5000 will support the continued delivery of sports sessions and provide disability training for staff.

Sport Works and The AHOY Centre have developed an innovative partnership which aims to engage disadvantaged groups who have never participated in sailing before. £4762 will allow Sport Works and The Ahoy Centre to deliver sailing sessions for disabled people. Participants enjoying sailing on the Thames will be recruited from local special schools and adult day centres, and the local councils Disabled Children’s Teams and Adult Social Care teams will actively refer into the project.

You can read about all the funding in the PLA's news release