Athlone Boat Club continue in their quest to raise funds towards the completion of a new state of the art clubhouse facility along the banks of the River Shannon on Grace Road.
During these very testing Covid-19 times the club has been sharing some very positive new stories pertaining to the return to rowing for both junior boys and girls, and new fundraising initiatives to support the clubhouse development project.
According to Club PRO, Padraig Hegarty, it is hoped that a grant application submitted to the Sports Capital Programme for equipment will receive formal approval in the coming times.
“The application was a huge success, and as a result, it is hoped that Athlone Boat Club will receive an allocation of €72,800 towards equipment. This grant allocation, upon approval, will be warmly welcomed by all in the club.
“The club still has an outstanding loan which was required to complete the main build and this grant allocation is not permitted to clear such loan but will go quite a long way in the acquisition of new equipment.
“The cost of the new build was to be €600,000, but due to poor ground conditions at the site and other unforeseeable circumstances the final costing ran over budget. Therefore, the club required a loan to ensure that the new club house was completed.
“The club is still fundraising to close out this loan and have recently launch a ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign to support such loan repayments, the details of which are available on the club’s website. The committee hope to have access to the boat house at the end of August, the expected time building works will finish,” Mr Hegarty commented.
“We are delighted with the news of imminent funding allocation approval by the Sports Capital Programme. This is further positive confirmation of our strategy in creating a family-friendly community rowing club.
“This funding for much needed equipment together with the new boat house will enable us to expand our membership to a new cohort of youths and adults of Athlone and the wider area.
“The club will continue with the submission of grant applications which will benefit the club. Such grant applications allow clubs to enhance their equipment for members and future members.
“I would encourage the people of Athlone to continue to support the club with their ambitious plans by visiting their website www.athloneboatclub.ie and viewing all fundraising initiatives.
“Thank you to our hard-working committee members, club members and all our supporters,” club president, Paul Donovan, remarked.
