On Saturday 8th July Chester Le Street Amateur Rowing Club held a ceremony to name their best boat after the late Chester le Street councillor, Cllr Beaty Bainbridge. The ceremony was carried out by the Chairperson of Durham County Council, Cllr Joan Nicholson.
The club, who have been part of the Chester-le-Street Riverside community for over 120 years decided to name the boat after Beaty in recognition of the support that she provided to the club over the 15 years that she was a councillor in the ward.
Members of the club, their neighbours the Sea Cadets, along with Beaty’s close family and other members of the community including a large number of local councillors joined the Chair of Durham County Council Cllr Joan Nicholson at the boat naming ceremony in Chester-le Street on Saturday the 8th July 2023.
A spokesperson for the club said that Beaty had always supported the growth of Rowing in Chester le Street and was passionate about the riverside community. When the club needed a name for the boat it was an easy decision to honour Beaty and name our racing boat after her.
The club have been in their present boathouse since the 1970’s and since then it has been one of the most successful rowing clubs in the area, with regional, national, and international successes.
At the heart of it all are the community volunteers who run the club and support the members. Some members have gained rowing scholarships to prestigious schools and international universities, while others have enjoyed national and international successes in rowing.
The future of Chester le Street Amateur Rowing Club looks positive, with club membership more than tripling in the last 12 months, a £30K upgrade to the boathouse facilities starting later this month and plans in place to fund significant improvements to indoor training facilities.
The club aims to engage with more of the local community with a view to extending their offer to weekday daytime rowing for local schools, businesses and other community groups to allow even more engagement with the community.
The club has made its mission to make rowing inclusive and open to as many local people of all ages and abilities as possible. We say, “Come down to the Riverside Boathouse and give it a try”.