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Boathouse is an Olympic legacy




Annamarie Phelps, chairman of British Rowing, Paralympian Pam Ralph, Glyn Hawkins, project leader, Paralympian James Roe, Nadhim Zahawi MP and Stratford Boat Club chairman Stephen Haighton.
Annamarie Phelps, chairman of British Rowing, Paralympian Pam Ralph, Glyn Hawkins, project leader, Paralympian James Roe, Nadhim Zahawi MP and Stratford Boat Club chairman Stephen Haighton.

THERE were great celebrations at Stratford Boat Club earlier this month as the new training room and refurbished club room were opened by Paralympian gold medalist James Roe MBE and Nadhim Zahawi MP in front of an enthusiastic audience.

Stephen Haighton, chairman of Stratford Boat Club said: “We have been extraordinarily lucky here at the club that we got together the right team, with the right vision, ambition, skills, talent and commitment, ably lead by Glyn Hawkins for whom this has been virtually a full time job and who we recognised with honorary life membership last week. We were also very fortunate to have the right people advising us included some great partners such as MRT Architects and Iris Construction and invaluable help from Alan Meegan at British Rowing.”

Other guests included chief executives and senior executives from Sport England, British Rowing and Stratford Town Trust who provided just under £200k between them to fund the project.

Club president Paul Stanton said: “The key objectives and main reasons for building are to provide an all-weather, year round training facility, to improve access for disabled athletes and to increase participation in sport and rowing. There have been a number of very generous individual donations including one by my predecessor Felix Badcock whose estate provided £12,500 for the development. He was a very passionate advocate of building the extension and we know that the finished result is a fitting memorial to him.

Glyn Hawkins, lead committee member for the refurbishment added: “We will be continuing with our fund raising activities with the aim of paying the bank loan off early. We are very keen to attract more sponsors and we hope that progressive local businesses will see that the boat club is a thriving Stratford community asset and want to be associated with us.”

Before James Roe officially cut the ribbon to open the club room and training room, Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi said: “This facility is for the whole community of Stratford and a legacy of what was achieved with the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 and what we proved to the world. More people are partaking in sport from five-year-olds to pensioners and Stratford Boat Club is playing its part in making that happen. You can celebrate your achievement for many years to come and I say many congratulations to you.”



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