Club In A Box – Now Accepting Applications!

Applications are being welcomed for the Club In A Box (CIAB) packages.

First taking to the water in 2017 following funding from the CPGA, Sport England, British Rowing and St Austell Brewery, there are now two Club In A Box packages available for their next loan period.

The application form is now live for the next round of submissions with a deadline of Friday 31st March, 2023. Drop us an email at admin@cpga.co.uk to request an application pack.

Seven Stars and Club In A Box #3 will be available from potentially April / May 2023.

Any interested clubs can apply now!

What is Club In A Box?

Club In A Box was introduced to allow new and maturing clubs to get up and running at minimum expense so that they can: 

• Get people out on the water rowing
• Grow their membership
• Raise funds for their own Cornish Pilot Gig and therefore be able to race and become full members of the CPGA

The first GRP training gig was launched on a glorious sunny day in February 2017 at Christchurch, where they were both built by Rossiter’s Yachts Ltd. Named Seven Stars, the second launched at Torpoint in July 2017 named Walter Hicks (Korev). Both names are references to St Austell Brewery who were part of the funding group involved with establishing the programme.

We now have three Club In A Box packages:

• The first, Seven Stars, was named after the first St Austell Brewery pub and
• Walter Hicks was named after the Brewery’s founding father who set up in business in 1851.
• The third has yet to be branded, so if you are interested in seeing your business on the water at various locations throughout the UK, please contact us at hello@cpga.co.uk for more information.

“We loved having Tribute in the club. The loan allowed us to grow our club significantly and start a youth section who went on to compete at the Newquay Championships. Some of them have now progressed to our adult crews and are taking part in the World Championships this year. 

We went on to purchase our own second GRP once the loan period had ended – Portishead Gig Club‘”

What’s on offer?

We are now offering two packages to support you with everything that you need to get on the water and row, including:

• GRP Training Gig (#1 or #3 –Seven Stars)
• Set of oars
• Set of seats
• Cover
• Pins
• Trailer

“Put simply, the Gig in a Box made the Weston-super-Mare Gig Club possible. You can’t attract members to or generate excitement about a boatless boat club. Having Walter Hicks in situ made a huge statement, attracting interest, members and support.

The club grew from zero to almost 50 members within a few months, making funding bids and, next, a Crowdfunder campaign possible.

We are now on target to buy our own GRP training boat when the CPGA gig moves on to its next club when our loan ends. We’ll miss her! Thank you from all at Weston-super-Mare Pilot Gig Club. – Weston-Super-Mare Pilot Gig Club“

Which clubs have these packages helped so far?

The clubs who have benefited from the project to date are:

• London Cornish, London – Seven Stars (Tribute) based at Richmond
• Newhaven, Sussex – Seven Stars (Tribute) based at Newhaven
• Torpoint Rowers, Cornwall – Walter Hicks (Korev) based in Torpoint
• Portishead, North Somerset– Seven Stars (Tribute) based at Portishead
• Lewes, Sussex – Walter Hicks (Korev) based at Lewes
• Chichester Yacht Club – Walter Hicks (Korev) based in Chichester
• Thames Barbarians – Seven Stars (Tribute) based in Gravesend
• EpicGigability – Club In A Box 3 based at Falmouth
• Weston-Super-Mare – Walter Hicks (Korev) based in Weston-Super-Mare

A number of these clubs have gone on to purchase a Cornish Pilot Gig and are now all full members of the CPGA.

Walter Hicks is currently with Weston-Super-Mare who became affiliate members of the CPGA this year, 2023. 

“CIAB was absolutely vital in developing our club membership as it allowed us to move away from a model of infrequent begging and borrowing of Gigs and towards running regular scheduled rows, which in turn allowed our membership base to thrive.

The CIAB scheme gave us the time to raise money via Sports England (working with the Port London Authority on the Thames). We’ve since gone from strength to strength and we now own our own wooden gig along with a shiny new training GRP gig bought from Trevor Deacon.

Thames Barbarians are now furiously training to compete in our second Scillies World Championship. – Thames Barbarians“

Don’t just take it from us! Hear from some clubs on their experience:

The clubs that have been a part of the Club In A Box scheme so far have given us some great feedback around their experiences. The told us their initial reasons for applying, the success that the scheme brought to their clubs and which groups have benefited most from the opportunity and the lasting legacy:

What were your initial reasons for applying to Club In A Box?

• To enable new and existing rowers to row in a gig (as clubs who had yet to own a gig)
• An opportunity to expand rowing for the local community
• To enable the clubs to generate income to buy a Cornish Pilot Gig and satisfy the growth of membership at the club
• To test the appetite for gig rowing within the local community
• To build a gig club in the area

What success has your club achieved since then?

• More rowers have taken to the water (novices / open training)
• Resulted in an increase in club membership
• The additional boat, in some cases has maximised water time 
• Due to the low cost of the Club In A Box rental it has allowed the club to build up finances to purchase a gig.
• Raised the profile of gig rowing as a result of the bright, visually grabbing GRP boats.
• They are great advertising material for any community event as they are eye catching and draw people’s attention which leads to discussion and then potentially people on the water.

Which groups have benefited most from this programme?

• Newcomers to rowing
• They also allowed those training for the World Championships to continue ‘on water’ training once their gig(s) had travelled to the Isles of Scilly.
• Community groups eg scout groups
• The Seven Stars (Tribute) also took part in an expedition across Scotland rowing from Fort William to Inverness. 
• The Walter Hicks (Korev) was rowed by a Cornish Barbarian crew for a charity row in aid of Bowel Cancer from Looe to Portmellon, Mevagissey.

What lasting legacy has this left on your club?

• It’s raised the visibility of the club within the local area / community. 
• The growth in membership
• The promotion of gig rowing, both locally and in general
• Continued to raise interest in the Cornish Pilot Gig’s heritage  

“London Cornish PGC benefited from the 12 month loan of “Seven Stars (Tribute)” in 2016, shortly after the club was formed. 

The loan enabled the club to run regular sessions while fundraising for a wooden gig and to capture the interest shown by prospective members. 

The boats offered a low maintenance option while initial storage facilities were limited, and were well-used for training/social rows across both London bases. The boats also enabled the club to undertake its first tour along the Caledonian Canal and across Loch Ness.

We would recommend the CIAB program as an effective way to develop a club in its early stages. – London Cornish“

The CPGA membership continues to grow, currently standing at 88 clubs throughout the Southern part of the UK, but with clubs in Norfolk, Essex, London and Hertfordshire as well.