The long awaited official opening of Edinburgh Kayak Club’s new boat shed took place on Saturday 22nd September.
The event was well attended by club members of all ages and we were blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon.
Speeches were given by our Chairperson, Graham Nelson, followed by Grant Duncan (Senior Project Manager, Sportscotland) and David Simpson (President of the Scottish Canoe Association). Ellie Clark (Scottish Government) and Roger Holmes (Scottish Canoe Association) were also present for the event. Unfortunately, no-one from Edinburgh Airport Community Fund was able to attend.
Graham then declared the new shed officially open and we all tucked into a delicious barbeque which included homemade burgers, vegan salads and a cake specially decorated with the logos of our funders.
Edinburgh Kayak Club wish to thank again Sportscotland for awarding us £16,339.00 from the Scottish Government’s Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund, and Edinburgh Airport Community Fund for contributing £9,998.00. Without this funding the project would not have been possible.
The new shed has enabled us to:
refocus our aims, goals and club development
increase amount and range of activities
increase membership
securely store a greater range of kit
store our loaded trailer within the shed, which greatly simplifies bringing boats to our summer evening Musselburgh Lagoon sessions
add canoes and SUPs to our fleet
promote paddling to a greater number and diversity of people