Supporting Grosvenor Rowing Club with a New Floating Dock
The Ursula Keyes Trust is delighted to continue its support for Grosvenor Rowing Club, helping towards the replacement of the club’s essential floating dock on the River Dee.
The Chester-based rowing club provides opportunities for people to enjoy and develop within the sport, from recreational rowing through to competitive athletes. Today, the club has an approximately equal split of male and female members and continues to encourage participation and progression at all levels.
The Trust has supported Grosvenor Rowing Club previously, including a grant for its women’s squad in 2017. That investment has helped contribute to the growth and development of women’s rowing at the club, with participation and performance continuing to flourish.
One particularly impressive success story is Sarah McKay, who joined Grosvenor Rowing Club in 2019 and has since progressed to rowing for Great Britain.
The club’s latest project focuses on a much more fundamental piece of infrastructure – its floating dock, which is used every time boats and rowers take to the water.
After many years of use and prolonged exposure to the weather, the existing dock has reached the end of its serviceable life. Sections have deteriorated significantly, with floating blocks becoming insecure and areas of metalwork buckling. As well as requiring increasing levels of maintenance, its condition now presents concerns for both the safety of rowers and the potential for damage to boats.
Replacing the dock with a modern modular system will provide a safer, more stable and accessible surface from which boats can be launched and recovered. Modern materials should also significantly reduce ongoing maintenance requirements and provide a long-term solution for the club.
Grosvenor Rowing Club has committed its own funds towards the project and is also prepared to seek additional contributions from its members. External funding, however, will play an important part in allowing the project to proceed while the club continues to invest in other essential improvements to its facilities.
We are very pleased to be able to support Grosvenor Rowing Club once again, helping to provide safe and sustainable facilities that will enable people in Chester to continue enjoying rowing on the River Dee for many years to come.