Because of difficulties in confirming the venue for the sprints, as well as extensive building work at the Club, we have decided to postpone the Richmond Sprints until later in the year.

We are hoping to find a date and venue suitable for all and intend to run the regatta at Easter next year.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

We're pleased to announce that in addition to the Sport England grant of ?135,000 announced at the AGM, we have been awarded a grant of ?25,000 by the SITA Trust (Part of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme).

Adding this grant we now have around ?190,000 secured towards the refurbishment project, subject to us ensuring that we meet the requirements of these funding bodies. These two awards come on top of the two already given us by our local charities, Hampton Fuel Allotment Charity and Richmond Parish Lands.?There are also the 40 or so club members to thank for their generous support to our own Gift Aid Scheme.

Thanks to a lot of hard work by a number of the Committee we are well on our way.?Refurbishment will commence as soon as we are in a position to do so (this is subject to the works going on above us ? as you can see from the roadside picture, it?s starting to look like a building again, and now the scaffolding has been removed), and although there are still masses of decisions to be made (not least what colour tiles to have) we are really hoping we will all be back in our home by late summer.

We are still around ?30,000 short of the eventual target we need, to enable both the club's interior to be done and get the balcony pretty much rebuilt. If you have not yet completed a Gift Aid form and given even a small amount to help, please do so. Really even ?25 from the rest of the club members will make a huge difference - you can download the Gift Aid Form here - where you'll find a copy of the fundraising FAQs too.

With the Easter weekend jaunt of Devizes Westminster approaching rapidly, there's the annual scrabble for support crews. Tony and partner are looking for a support crew - a total of four people.

Being part of a support crew is a memorable experience, and is essential for the paddlers. It's a good combination of challenging and straightforward. And if you're thinking of doing the event next year, it is a very good way of understanding the demands of the event.

If you're just one person, a couple or a group and available, get in touch with Tony (found paddling on Saturday's and most mornings this close to Easter) either at the club or by email.

The Arcadia Group, who are redeveloping the Thameside around Richmond, have a couple of planting dates planned at Bridge House Gardens.

If you're interested - or know someone who might be - the details for planting are:

Sunday 9th April 10.00am - 1.00pm
Saturday 29th April 9.30am - 12.30pm

See the map for precise details.

Let Tasha Hunter know if you can attend so gloves and tools can be arranged.