Troon Coastal Rowing Club were delighted to have been awarded a Blue Flag award at this year’s Scottish Coastal Rowing Association (SCRA) virtual AGM. Blue Flags celebrate the extra efforts made by clubs to help those in the wider community, and Troon’s flag recognised their fundraising efforts in lockdown on behalf of Irvine & Troon Cancer Care. The actual flag arrived just as South Ayrshire entered Tier 4 Covid restrictions, but hopefully it will not be too long before it can be on display at regular rowing sessions.
When the RowAround Scotland 2020 event, celebrating SCRA’s tenth anniversary, was unfortunately cancelled, a small team from Troon CRC decided to honour the occasion and cover the entire distance of the Scottish coastline using indoor rowers, a total of 1,800 miles.
At the same time, another group of club members took on the challenge to cycle a total distance of 5,000 miles, the equivalent of cycling the entire coastline of the UK.
A number of members and their families have received help and support from Irvine & Troon Cancer Care, a local charity who predominately offer transport services for patients going through treatment; it was decided to raise funds for this charity at the same time.
This would not have been possible without the support of CrossFit Scotland, Irvine where members train during the winter months. While their premises were closed during lockdown, they loaned out equipment, including indoor rowers, to club members.
Starting at the end of March, and after only nine weeks, the club cyclists reached their total. The following week, on June 3, the indoor rowers crossed the finish line completing their 1,800 mile target.
The club later received a certificate of thanks from Irvine & Troon Cancer Care in recognition of their virtual row and cycle around the coastlines of Scotland and the UK, which raised over £2,346 for the charity. Well done Troon!
