Durham Amateur Rowing Club: DURHAM ARC unveiled plans for a new £900,000 club and boathouse to be built on the site of their current facilities.

The new building will replace the current City Boathouse, which was built by the members 35 years ago, with a modern enlarged structure to cater for the growing membership and secure the future of rowing on the River Wear for the foreseeable future.

A unique feature of the new clubhouse will be an IT classroom and centre set up in conjunction with Durham LEA and DfES under their Playing for Success initiative. This programme is targeted at 9-14-year-olds who are quiet under achievers and is designed to build a childs self esteem and confidence through the medium of sport.

Anne Timothy of the PfS initiative said: "Playing for Success is a key part of the governments attack on under achievement in urban areas. By providing out of school access to Study Centres at major sporting venues and working with the clubs we will give the pupils the opportunity and the confidence to achieve their full potential. The centre at Durham ARC will have facilities necessary to achieve the goals set by the scheme and we are really pleased with the way the membership of the club have got behind the study centre."

Durham ARC are the only rowing club and the only amateur club in the UK to be involved in this project and puts the club in an exclusive band of sports clubs that are involved in the initiative.

Durham ARC will join other clubs in the region that are providing centres such as premiership football clubs Newcastle United, Sunderland AFC and Middleborough.

Durhan ARC Club captain Phill Tully said: "I could not believe the amount of interest we have generated nationally by our inclusion in the Playing for Success initiative.

"Our involvement is a real asset to the region and will raise the profile of rowing, the PfS initiative and Durham Amateur Rowing club nationally."

Members have been raising funds for some time for the project. Funding has been sought from The Northern Rock Foundation, Durham City Council, Durham LEA, the Amateur Rowing Association and The Sport England Lottery fund. As well as announcing the involvement of the PfS initiative, the club also announced it had been awarded the a £300,000 Lottery grant to help fund the building project.

However, the club still require sponsors to help them achieve their goals and are appealing for organisations to join them in a weekend of fund raising events on June 23-25 that will include two regattas and allow potential sponsors to view the clubs plans.

DURHAM Amateur Rowing Club sent their largest contingent of crews to the National Veteran Championship Regatta held at the National Watersports Centre, Nottingham over a distance of 1000 meters and were rewarded with four medal winning crews. Caroline Edwards took the gold medal in the women's Veteran D category and then followed that with a silver medal in the women's veteran C coxless quad with C. Hepple, G. Prescott and S. English.

Martin Tyler took silver in the men's veteran D single sculls whilst M. Stevens and H. Stainforth added to their collection of National medals with silver in the mixed E double sculls.

Other club members competed at the prestigious Durham Regatta held on the river Wear over a 750 meter course on the same weekend. On the Saturday four crews won their events. A. Jaggard won the mens vetran C single sculls, A. Scurfield and R. Milburn won the womens junior 15 double sculls and V. Elder and H. Preston won the womens junior 16 double sculls.

On the Sunday R. Milburn and A. Scurfield followed up their success on Saturday by winning the womens junior 15 double. They were also part of the winning womens junior 15 coxed quad along with J. Reay and P. Jones with cox R. Milburn. The clubs other success on Sunday was H. Preston in the womens junior 16 single sculls adding to the bronze medal she won at the National schools regatta two weeks previously.

At the York Festival of the Rivers Regatta, held on June 18, there were victories for D. Hepple and E. Henderson in the mens novice double sculls and the womens veteran C coxless quad of C. Hepple, G. Prescott, S. English and C. Edwards.