Otley Sailing Club receives £50,000

An award-winning Wharfedale sailing club is celebrating winning a £50,000 award to improve its facilities. Otley Sailing Club has secured the Olympic legacy funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund. The club’s groundbreaking Sailability work to train and enable people with disabilities to sail on Weston Water earned it a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service last year. It will use the money to make extensive alterations to its clubhouse so that it is even more accessible for disabled sailors. The club’s Royal Yachting Association (RYA) sailability co-ordinator, Peter Fox, said: “The award is fantastic news for the club. “We will be creating better disabled facilities and integrating them into the entire clubhouse. “We are already an RYA Sailability Centre of Excellence and we plan to build upon our 25 years of experience to make our sailing centre as inclusive as possible.” Otley's MP Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem, Leeds North West) added: "The award is great news for the inclusivity of the sport of sailing.”