Marlow Rowing Club Accessible Boating Facility project will make access to the water easy, safe and accessible for all
“Adaptive rowing makes me feel limitless rather than limited.” – Ella Holloway, PR3 pararower
Marlow Rowing Club has launched an appeal to raise £200,000 to develop its slipway and water frontage into a fully accessible area. The area will be dedicated to users who have limited mobility but who need easy river access, from our more venerable rowing enthusiasts to the Adaptive/Para Rowers. As well as easier and safer water access for all users, it will provide a new covered storage facility for around 35 boats, step-free wheelchair access from car park to water’s edge as well as a safe surface for all users.
This exciting and innovative project by Marlow Rowing Club will provide easier and safer access to the water for everybody.
We take pride in the fact that we have a
huge range of members who row on your local stretch of the Thames. Novice or experienced, young or venerable, able-bodied
or less mobile, we encourage all to try the sport.
Since the devastating fire back in 2011, Marlow Rowing Club has risen from the
ashes to develop its status as one of the UK’s leading clubs for Adaptive/Para
Rowing. We train top Paralympic talent and hopefuls, enabling anyone with
disability or limited mobility to follow their ambitions.
Greats including Dame Katherine Grainger DBE, Cath Bishop, Naomi Riches MBE, Sir Steve Redgrave CBE DL and Zac Purchase MBE all trained here and are proud to be part of the Marlow Rowing Family.
Whilst Marlow Rowing Club has a state-of-the-art, fully accessible facility inside the club house, the funds raised did not quite stretch to delivering easier and safer access to the water or under-cover boat storage for members with limited mobility or visual impairment.
The Marlow RowAbility initiative will fund an upgrade of the waterfront making it a safe, accessible facility.
Our practical aims are to:
- design and build under-cover storage for adaptive/para boats and equipment
- eliminate changes in level of the bank
- remove hazardous steps and gaps between bank and boating pontoons
- replace existing pontoons to make boating safer for people with limited mobility and visual impairments
- improve the visibility of hard edges and changes in level
- provide an all-weather, wheelchair-friendly surface on the waterfront
“The Accessible Boating Facility is the final piece in the jigsaw to being one of the most accessible water facilities in the UK.” – John Yeatman, Marlow Rowing Club chairman emeritus