Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Project Launched for 2023

Kintyre Seasports and Kintyre Canoe Club are very pleased to announce that the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Project has been granted essential funding for 2023 by the Scottish Government’s Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund through the Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface. This year the project will offer more people the opportunity to try out seasports in a relaxed and welcoming environment. All sessions are fully inclusive, completely free and are open to all abilities. Join us this summer for a taste of the joy of seasports!

This year’s programme will focus on kayaking and sailing, with the first session being kayaking and water confidence in the swimming pool at Auqalibrium on the 6th of April, before the pool closes for maintenance. This session is aimed at people who would like to work on water confidence and try out kayaking in the swimming pool, before going afloat on the loch. With qualified kayaking coaches and a helper for every 2 participants, this session will be a gentle introduction to being afloat.

Beginning in May we will have kayaking and sailing sessions running on Campbeltown Loch, offering a block of 3 sessions, giving a taster of the basic skills involved, and enjoying time out on the water. We’ll also run a further pool session once the pool has reopened for anyone who misses out on the session in April.

These sessions build on the successful programme of activities during 2022, and we look forward to welcoming back participants from last year and getting new people out on the water. The parents of one participant with additional support needs described last year’s sessions:

“He enjoyed the sessions and felt safe with a volunteer or myself as support. His favourite was kayaking but he was proud of himself for standing up on the paddle board. These were all very valuable sessions for him, giving him both new experiences and more confidence in himself. We were so proud to see him doing his very best in situations outside of his comfort zone. I was very grateful also to be able to support him directly in the double kayak and gain new skills myself.”

If you’d like to take part in any of the activities we’ll be offering through this project, then head to www.kintyreseasports.co.uk/cmhwb for more information. Individual pool sessions or blocks of sessions on the loch will be booked separately on the page, with the first sessions now available to book, and the option to register your interest in later sessions. We are also able to offer a limited number of private sessions on the loch for local groups/organisations, please contact jamie@kintyreseasports.co.uk if this is something your organisation may be interested in.

To make sure you’re the first to hear about future sessions and other activities, make sure to join the Kintyre Seasports mailing list at www.kintyreseasports.co.uk/contact-us.