Over the winter we’ve had some good training sessions on the water and at the club. Here are some of the highlights:
May
In May we hosted the Swift NZ Beach Sprint Coastal Rowing Championships. As a newly recognised Olympic Sport, this is the first time in decades Rowing NZ has supported a national championships outside of Lake Karapiro (Cambridge) and Lake Ruataniwha(Twizel). Our club helped test ideas like running dual courses and partnering with a Surf Club. We will continue to lead and help develop coastal rowing in New Zealand. See a blog of the championship here. https://poriruarowing.co.nz/may-2024-coastal-rowing-champs/
As a thanks to club members, we held a mini-regatta a few weeks later and invited the Titahi Bay Surf Club members who helped on the day to race against and with our own club members. They were able to jump in and race, enjoy a BBQ and it was great fun!
June
Operationally we landed on a night rowing policy, which put safety ahead of all other considerations. There was a gap in our procedures so we got this sorted asap. The Club also entered into the Petone Solstice Regatta, which was a bit of fun!
July
We won the Sports and Leisure and Supreme Award ($2k prize). We will attend the regional finals in November where all 5 cities in greater Wellington will attend to celebrate with each other. A big thanks to the Porirua City Council and Wellington Airport for supporting and recognising all volunteers in our City. https://poriruacity.govt.nz/your-council/news/award-recipients-named-in-porirua/
We held a training camp in Whanganui and of course held the Club AGM. Read the Club annual report here.
Fundraising
We had another grant approved for water safety gear. We will use this gear to support Coastal Exploring.
But the major focus is on relcadding the roof and walls so our equipment remains protected and we will secure the future of the club for another 30 years.
We need $135k+GST. We have applied to 6 providers over the last 6 months and have received:
– 30K from the NZCT in April
– 20k from Grassroots Central Trust in July
– 30k from Pelorus Trust in August
We are very grateful to these Trust providers and are nearly at our target.
As a club we have fundraised 15k as well so in total now have 95k towards this project – which is enough to do the roof. The remaining 40k will allow us to reclad the walls. We will apply for grants until we hit our target.
Ngā mihi
Tony Tikiku
PRC President