New £135,000 Clubhouse opens doors at Banbury Sailing Club

South Northamptonshire District Council Vice-Chairman, Cllr Richard Dallyn helps cut the ribbon on the extension to Banbury SC alongside Daventry District Council Chairman, Cllr David James © Karenza Morton

If you want to get afloat this summer, sailing has become even more accessible for people in and around Daventry and South Northamptonshire after the official opening of Banbury Sailing Club's new £135,000 clubhouse.

Cllr David James, Chairman of Daventry District Council, and Cllr Richard Dallyn, Vice Chairman of South Northamptonshire District Council did the honours on cutting the ribbon of the new facility, which has been developed to keep up with the growing popularity and membership at the Boddington Reservoir club.

Banbury SC was formed in 1950 and installed its first clubhouse - a 40-year-old secondhand cricket pavilion - in 1959. Over the years this was extended and improved to cater for the ever-increasing amount of club activity.

But an all-year round sailing programme, combined with a strong membership growth of over 20% in recent years, including more than 60 six to 18-year-olds, saw the need for greater and modernised changing room and communal space to make sure the club continued to be somewhere people enjoyed spending their free time.

Cue the new 90m2 extension that doubles the amount of changing room space and to a high quality specification, plus the refurbished, energy efficient main clubroom to keep the social side at the heart of club life.

Andrew Rimmer, previous Commodore led the project for Banbury SC. He explains why it will make such a difference to the local community.

"The club is buzzing and more people are wanting to learn to sail and sail regularly at Boddington Reservoir because the activities we are running are the sorts of things the local community and our sailors have said they want to see at the club.

"To get people on the water and to keep them coming back every week, in all weather, all year round, you have to make the whole experience as pleasant and as much fun as possible so that is why these facilities will help us continue to grow.

"It was fantastic to even see some of the facilities being used a week ahead of schedule as our contractors, Skaino Services, pulled out all the stops so we could welcome over more than 40 visiting boats from across the Midlands to the South Coast for Open Meetings for the popular Solo and Merlin Rocket classes."

The £135,000 project was funded with grants from Sport England Inspired Facilities, Daventry District Council, South Northamptonshire District Council, past and present member donations and club funds. Alidec Ltd provided carpentry services in kind while many members volunteered hundreds of hours to complete the refurbishment of the clubhouse structure.

Banbury SC is a recognised RYA Training Centre, meaning it conforms to the highest standards of quality and safety. For around £3 a week, members can enjoy near unrestricted chances to sail at the club seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, and free use of the club's sailing boats so you don't need to own your own to get started.

Last month no fewer than 78 local people took advantage of the chance to try sailing for free at Banbury SC's RYA Push The Boat Out Open Day, and the club hosts its second try-sailing-for-free Open Day of the year on Saturday 2 September.

The club is also an important racing destination for adults and juniors with a number of its own youngsters regularly attending national and international competitions, while by the end of next month over 120 members of local youth organisations will have enjoyed RYA OnBoard introductory sailing sessions at Boddington.

To find out how you can get on the water at Banbury SC this summer check out www.banburysailing.org.uk