Tauranga Rowing Club has a roll call of international champions to be proud of and after extensive renovations the club now has facilities to match.
The club headquarters at Memorial Park had endured 28 years of use but after three years of planning, is now a modern rowing and community venue, thanks to the assistance of many local businesses, and major contributions from TECT, New Zealand Community Trust, the Lion Foundation and the New Zealand Racing Board.
Club president Simon Aubrey says among dignitaries gathered on Thursday night to officially open the new club facilities were world champions and Olympic bound rowers, Zoe Stevenson and Adam Ling. Tauranga is the only rowing club in New Zealand to have two current world champions.
They travelled from their base at Rowing NZ's high performance centre at Lake Karapiro to be part of the festivities.
Ling says the club has played a big part in his development as a rower.