Today the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre celebrates its 23rd anniversary!
Officially opened on the Mount Batten peninsula by HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, on 23rd June 1999, the Centre has, over the last twenty three years, welcomed thousands of people through its doors and provided experiences and memories to last a lifetime.
The Centre was created to provide education, recreational and leisure water and land based activities and experiences to the local community and schools from across the country and abroad.
Alex King, Chief Operating Officer and CEO of the Mount Batten Centre says: “What a privilege it is to be responsible for this very special place. In the eleven years since I’ve been here at the Centre we’ve experienced many successes, and some challenges, and none so more so than the last two years as we all faced the pandemic. Now, as a key partner in the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park Horizons Project, we look forward to the future and providing even more accessibility to the water for those that wish to try, learn and experience watersports in a safe environment.”
In late 2014, the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre was granted Charity status, the Centre had previously been run as a not-for-profit organisation. Successfully satisfying the strict criteria governed by Charity Law, the Centre has always considered the ‘advancement of education’ and the ‘advancement of amateur sport’ at its core and ‘to promote, sustain and increase individual and collective knowledge and understanding of specific areas of study, skills and expertise.’
The Centre also satisfies the criteria of ‘public benefit requirement’ – as one of the leading Watersports and Activities Centres in the South West, the Mount Batten Centre provides activities, courses and programmes that both individuals, clubs and event organisers greatly benefit from.
Alex concludes: “At the heart of the Centre is ensuring that we provide all who visit a safe, welcoming and enjoyable experience via our water and land based activities, whether that be for our members, clubs and affiliates, those attending a school residential or an activity day or a friends and family session and we plan to be doing that for many more years to come.”