“This is amazing! I’ve never done anything like this before”

Core to the ethos of Pinkston Watersports is that we are a resource that provides opportunities for our community.  This is one of our 3 key strategic objectives of Community, Social Enterprise, and Sport.

While Pinkston is accessed by people from all walks of life and from right across the UK and beyond, we are based among some of the most deprived areas in the country. Because of this there are many ways in which people on our doorstep face the biggest challenges to benefitting from our facilities.

We work with a range of groups who this applies to and we actively build on what we can offer that challenges the cultural and financial barriers to participation.   One group recently has been North United Communities in Glasgow – http://www.nuconline.co.uk/ who are now benefitting from a 5 session kayaking course funded by Tesco Bags of Help. As this is underway we are also looking at longer term options to provide opportunities that match the interest and enthusiasm of this inspiring group of young people.

This group is great fun to work with, so our experience was made even better to hear such positive feedback from them:

Here’s what Sylvia from NUC had to say about Pinkston Watersports –

“This group of young people have been known to be very challenging and have been dismissed by their community and organisations within. We were commissioned to work with this group by Community Safety Glasgow, the local housing association and the police. Scott and I then began working with this group around 4 months ago. We felt that that this particular group deserved a chance and wanted to give them an opportunity to attend consistent weekly sessions offering variety and opportunities.

This group have attended Pinkston Watersports Centre twice now and as a worker I feel it has been a very rewarding experience for the group. I was amazed at how determined the young people were when they were making their rafts. They were communicating effectively with the members of their team to ensure that they got the job done. As they were rafting, it was great to see both teams having some friendly banter and competition and having a great laugh!!

Pinkston Watersports instructors were amazing! They interacted well with the young people and made them feel really welcome and at ease. I noticed that the young people reciprocated and really responded well to them.

As a worker, it was really great to see these young people being welcomed and not judged.

We massively appreciate being invited back to Pinkston Watersports!! “

And from the young people:

“This is amazing! I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“This has been the best trip so far, could we do more!”

“This is banging!”

“I’m knackered, I’m not going to make the Celtic game now!”

“Can we do more things like this?”

“The instructors were brand new!”

By Pinkston