News Memo Outline from the English Sports Council London Region

The Rowing Service

Released Thursday 15 January 1998

34th round of Lottery Awards

Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine was awarded £703,500from the Lottery Sports Fund towards the redevelopment of the Imperial BoatClub's boathouse on Putney embankment.

The project will include the building of a new workshop, fitness andphysiotherapy rooms and the expansion of the women's changing rooms andboat storage area.

Lottery funding will enable the Imperial College Boat Club, which isalready one of the most successful in the country at national level, toexpand and to contribute significantly to the development of rowing in thewider community. Planned activities include training courses for staff oflocal schools, a talent identification programme for local school studentsand weekly rowing lessons for able bodied and disabled members of theCanalside Activities Centre. There will also be Local Authority, AmateurRowing Association and National Coaching Foundation courses and the Collegewill make 8 study bedrooms available for vacation time residential trainingcourses. Imperial College already houses the National CoachingFoundation's Regional Training Unit for Sport.

Additionally, the new facilities are set to benefit youngsters in theLondon Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Merton andKensington and Chelsea who have all expressed in interest in sending theirLondon Youth Games Squads to the College for training.

In total, the Imperial Boat Club expects that over 200 new people will usethe upgraded facilities and with concerted efforts being made to developrowing amongst the wider community, the club should continue to grow fromstrength to strength for many years to come.