A County Durham rowing club which trained an Olympic medalist has fundraised for three new boats.
Durham County Council’s Chester-le-Street Area Action Partnership (AAP) has contributed £5,880 from its area budget towards Chester-le-Street Amateur Rowing Club’s (ARC) fundraising campaign.
The club, which operates out of the council’s Riverside Complex, has been raising money to help it purchase two new boats for current and future members.
In addition to the AAP, funding was given from the neighbourhood budgets of councillors Julie Scurfield, Bill Moist, Karen Fantarrow, and Simon Henig, who each contributed £1,000.
Cllr Bill Moist contributed an additional £4,499 from his neighbourhood budget to help purchase a third boat specifically for adult rowers.
Neighbourhood budgets for the area are delivered through the AAP.
Michael Wilkes, Chester-le-Street and District AAP coordinator, said:
“As one of the oldest rowing clubs in the North East, Chester-le-Street Rowing Club has become a real community asset, helping generations of people in County Durham discover and become part of the world of rowing. Therefore, we were delighted to help support the club in purchasing some new boats for its members.
“These new boats will help the club continue its work to teach people of all ages and abilities to learn to row in a local setting. The club has helped train some amazingly talented rowers and we look forward to seeing what more can be achieved by the club and its members.”
One of the boats has been named in honour of club member and Olympic medalist Lauren Irwin, who won bronze at last year’s games as part of the Great Britain’s Women’s Eight.
Another boat has been named after club member Harvey Burford, aged 19, who represented Great Britain at the Junior World Championships in Canada, finishing fourth overall.
Both Lauren and Harvey are also winners of Henley Royal Regatta, a world-famous sporting event. Harvey is currently the only junior from Chester-le-Street to win whereas Lauren is a serial winner of the event in the women’s races.
Lauren said:
“I couldn’t be more honoured to have a boat named after me at Chester-le-Street ARC. I joined the club when I was 14 and it is where I took my first rowing strokes, eager to learn and make new friends. I hope my journey can inspire the next generation at the club to follow its dreams.”
Arran Lewcock, captain of the Chester-le-Street ARC, added:
“We are incredibly thankful for the ongoing support shown to the club by Chester-le-Street AAP and our local councillors. Both are so heavily invested in the success of a local club ran entirely by volunteers.
“These boats really cement Chester-le-Street’s ability to continue to provide top level athletes from our junior programme. It is such a bonus to the rowers having people such as Lauren and Harvey flying the flag for the club and showing them anything can be achieved from our club. As the rowing season is well underway and national trials are already taking place, we are hoping to have three more juniors following in Harvey and Lauren’s footsteps with international selection in 2025.”
