Local community members will soon have increased opportunities to try out rowing as a sport after Bradford Amateur Rowing Club have received funding from Sport England and WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd) to enable them to expand their fleet, boost participation and build a new boathouse.

With the funding from Sport England of £77,442, Bradford will primarily be expanding their fleet, which has come under increasing pressure with the ever-growing membership.

This is a welcome development in the ongoing efforts of the club to increase participation by women and junior rowers, who are under-represented nationally.

The women’s squad – consisting of an eight, a coxed four, a coxless quad or four, a double or pair and a Single – will benefit by the arrival of Wintech boats, accompanied by Concept II blades, from Oarsport in Nottingham: This will be celebrated by the women at the club who have been using heavier men’s boats for many events. The junior squad has continued to expand since the introduction of a junior programme in 2001, where links were developed with local secondary schools.

The majority of the junior equipment is designed for 11-14 year olds, but as membership retention has vastly exceeded expectation, there is now a need for more boats to suit the over 15 age group. They will have the use of two Wintech doubles and two singles.

The project will also improve facilities for the over-45s by providing coaching support for new adult daytime rowing sessions, and the club will purchase two Edon TS515 training sculls supplied by Ahoy-boats in Chester.

Judith Rasmussen, Sport England’s regional lead for Yorkshire, said: “If community sports clubs want to attract and retain participants, they need to be able to offer quality facilities for everyone.

“The improvements to Bradford Amateur Rowing Club’s facilities will be welcomed by regular users and newcomers.”

Opportunities for local residents will be improved by the club offering more indoor and outdoor ‘learn to row’ courses for new participants. There will also be funding for further coaching.

The club relies heavily on volunteer coaches, whose time and expertise is in constant demand.

Since 2007, 20 members have taken part in UKCC coaching courses, and this project will provide opportunities for a further 25 members to take the UKCC coaching awards to improve the experience for many at the club.

Rasmussen added: “Great coaches play a vital role in bringing more people into rowing and giving everyone a fun and fulfilling experience that will keep them coming back for more.

"This project is fantastic news for Bradford Amateur Rowing Club and for the whole community. The opportunity to try a new sport for the first time is often all a person needs to catch the sporting bug. The “Learn to Row” project is a great way for people from the age of 11 upwards to try rowing and have a quality sporting experience that will encourage them to stay involved.”

Bradford ARC lies within a geographic area eligible to access funds from WREN, which is a not-for-profit business that awards grants to community projects from funds donated by Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to the Landfill Communities Fund.

The funding from WREN of £50,000 has enabled the club to accommodate these additional resources in a new boatshed.

The existing boatshed at the site is already at capacity and the grant, combined with funding from the club, will enable the new boatshed to be built on the side of the clubhouse which has stood at the site since 1893.

The building, designed by Cogarchitecure, Leeds, has started to be constructed at the site at Hirst Weir by DRP Construction from Harrogate, and it is hoped that it will be completed by next April.

Peter Cox, managing director of WREN, said: “Wren makes a difference to people’s lives by awarding grants to the community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK.

"We’re delighted to support Bradford Amateur Rowing Club and their valuable work.”

The club was awarded funding partly due to its efforts to increase local membership. It has worked with local state schools and run “taster-day” sessions to allow people to trial the sport, and has seen its membership swell in from 109 members in 1999 to 215 members today. Due to the well-structured and enjoyable “Learn to Row” courses, adults and juniors now have a safe way to enter the sport and there are clear rowing pathways outlining ways to progress.

There is a large and active junior section and the club was awarded the Sport’s Clubmark Accreditation for being child-friendly, effective and well-managed. The Masters section of the club has also expanded. The club introduced a “War of the Roses” Masters Regatta three years ago with immediate interest. There are very few events in the country run exclusively for masters and the number of entrants has increased each year.

With increasing membership has come increasing success in competitive events.

Last year Bradford Amateur Rowing Club won the Victor Ludorum at the North of England Sprint Championships, a junior crew won the Boston Marathon and they saw many other successes at regattas all over the country.

Club president Richard Phillips said: ‘This is fantastic news. The club, and in particular juniors and women, will benefit from the new equipment.

"It will enable them to compete all over the North of England and will encourage recreational rowing down at our river.

"As president of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club, I am delighted to be part of this latest project.’ Ariana Frankis, a new arrival to the club in 2009, relates how her experiences at the rowing club have had an impact on her life.

She said: “I’m not sure what I did before joining Bradford Amateur Rowing Club! I apprehensively signed up for a Club Taster Day in April, 2009 and spent that summer with other new recruits learning how to row.

"Since then I have progressed along the club’s pathways and am now a fully-fledged member of the senior women’s squad, with medals and race experience under my belt.

"The last two years have been two of the best; I have learnt new skills, made new friends and am much fitter!

"Rowing itself is a fantastic sport, good for the body, being non-weight bearing and using all muscle groups and good for the soul, spending a Sunday morning paddling up and down the river with the scenery and wildlife that comes with that (and the weather!) is a great stress buster and escape from the pressures of everyday life!

“BARC is a great club going from strength to strength and, as with all good things, you get out what you put in.

"Aside from water and gym time, I have become involved with fund-raising activities for the club and have also undertaken a Level Two coaching course.

"There are so many people who give up a little or a lot of their spare time to volunteer in various roles and make the club the place it is, and it is up to future generations of rowers to ensure this success continues!

“Becoming an active member of BARC and the rowing community has totally enriched my life in all sorts of ways and my only regret would be that I didn’t join sooner! I cannot recommend it highly enough.”

For more information about opportunities at Bradford Amateur Rowing Club, please contact club secretary Barbara Edwards at secretary@bradfordrowing.co.uk , or visit the club website at www.bradfordrowing.co.uk.

The new boatshed is to be officially opened on July 31.