Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1/1/2023 Period start date To 31/12/2023 Period end date
Charity name: AquaPaddle
Charity registration number: 1194714
Objectives
The two key objectives of AquaPaddle are:
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the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation in particular by the provision of facilities for paddle boarding and associated water sports; and
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to provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare and mental wellbeing for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, financial hardship, or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.
Activities, Achievements and Performance
Our focus in 2023:
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to broaden and strengthen the foundations of AquaPaddle
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to organise more AquaPaddle BlueSpace activities
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to increase the number of locations where AquaPaddle 5ks are run
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to increase the number of AquaPaddles run
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to increase the number of registered AquaPaddlers
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to build a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with British Canoeing (Paddle UK - 2024), the largest body in Britain promoting paddle sport activities
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The Board of Trustees formally met 4 times in 2023, and management meetings moved to once a month. The AquaPaddle website continued to be developed, improved and promoted through social media helping grow AquaPaddle. The website allows those interested in participating in AquaPaddle 5ks to register as a user, to obtain an AquaPaddle registration number, and to register participation in an AquaPaddle 5k. The web-based timing tool continues to perform well on the 5k AquaPaddles. All governance and operational documents were completed and reviewed and approved by the Trustees. The finances of AquaPaddle were organised on Xero accounting software. A donation page was set up on Kindlink.
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In 2023 AquaPaddle provided the following BlueSpace sessions:
- a. In July 2023, AquaPaddle once again partnered with Surrey Care Trust to offer a BlueSpace Paddleboarding session for young people undergoing mentoring. The session aimed to foster confidence and well-being by introducing the participants to paddleboarding, allowing them to experience the positive effects of being out on the water and learning a new skill. Working
alongside their local Delivery Partner in Thames Ditton, AquaPaddle organized the event for six young people, accompanied by a care worker, with a mix of both girls and boys in attendance.
The session began with an introduction to the equipment and a focus on safety, followed by engaging warm-up games. Participants were then taught to paddleboard in a safe and fun environment along a scenic route past the historic Hampton Court Palace. They learned essential skills like controlling their boards, entering and exiting the water, and working together in team challenges, including forming a "snake of boards."
By the end of the session, all participants were able to stand and confidently navigate their paddleboards. Beyond mastering a new skill, many overcame personal challenges such as fear, anxiety, and nervousness in group settings. One particularly notable moment was when a usually quiet young person became more talkative and engaged while out on the water. Everyone left the session feeling accomplished, proud, and uplifted by the experience.
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b. In August 2023, AquaPaddle's Delivery Partner, Dittons Paddle Boarding, ran a series of BlueSpace Paddleboarding sessions for the DOST Centre Charity on Wey Island, Surrey. The DOST Centre supports young male refugees, many of whom come from conflict zones, by guiding them toward a safer, more positive future and helping them avoid crime and gang culture. The paddleboarding sessions aimed to boost their confidence on the water while teaching them about water safety and how to look out for each other. Over the weekend, there were three sessions of about 40 minutes each”.
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c. During the 2024 Coaching Season, over 80 individual BlueSpace (Blue Therapy) sessions were run at 5 locations, with more planned for 2025.
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In 2023 we increased the number of AquaPaddle locations from 5 to 20. In addition to the existing locations, we now have locations from Scotland to Cornwall including 2 in Wales.
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At the 20 AquaPaddle locations we ran a total of 127 AquaPaddle 5ks, in which we had a total of 1619 attendees.
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Through our website we had registered just over 2631 individual AquaPaddlers by the end of 2023.
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In 2022 we made an agreement with British Canoeing, the largest body in Britain promoting paddle sport activities. They continued the agreement for another year in October 2023. The funding is for safety equipment for 15 new AquaPaddle 5k locations for a total value of £30,000.00 during 2023/2024. The cross promotion also continues with them.
Trustee Statement
The trustees confirm that they have had due regard to the charities commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.
Volunteers
The AquaPaddle Charity is entirely run by volunteers, and its AquaPaddle 5ks are run by volunteers at the various locations. During 2023 more than 100 volunteers helped to run the charity and run the AquaPaddle events.
Financial Review
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | At the year-end (31stDecember 2023) AquaPaddle held a cash balance of £5,502.87. £5,000.00 of which was the Grant (for Blue Therapy Sessions) from the PLA Active Thames fund |
|---|---|---|
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | No reserves are currently held. |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | NIL |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 | AquaPaddle is still at a start-up phase, using small donations to cover expenses and working with a management team providing their time for free. |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 | During the Financial year 2023, a contingent loan amounting to £8,640 has been incurred during the development of the website. This loan will only fall due as and when donations and other income allow. |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | At this stage, there are no concerns about the charity being a going concern although we will only be able to settle the contingent loan for the website development if we obtain sufficient donations from participants in AquaPaddle events and organisations who support our out-reach activities. |
Structure, Governance and Management
AquaPaddle is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its constitution. AquaPaddle’s only voting members are its trustees.
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | AquaPaddle |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charitynumber | 1194714 |
| Charity’s principal address | 22 Merton Way West Molesey Surrey KT8 1PQ |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold Jager | Chair | |||
| Brett Scillitoe | ||||
| AnthonyWagstaff |
4 5
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date
Charity Name No (if any) Aquapaddle 1194714
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start date 1st Jan '23
Period end date 31st Dec'23
For the period from
To
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts Income - Donations - Individuals & Clubs 5,048 Income - Donations - Corporate - Grant Income - Corporate Grant Income - Blue Therapy Income - Merchandise 712 LongTerm Loan 1,373 LongTerm Loan 1,000 - - 8,133 - - Sub total - Total receipts 8,133 A3 Payments ConsultingFees 210 DC - DeliveryPartner Costs(Coaching) - DC - Kit for crew 728 IT& Hostingcosts 491 Insurance 1,744 Printing,Stationery& Marketing 163 Telephone & Internet Hosting 115 Sub total 3,451 Website Development 2,640 Marketing& SafetyEquipment 1,586 - Sub total 4,226 Total payments 7,677 Net of receipts/(payments) 456 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 47 Cash funds this year end 503 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) |
to the nearest £ - - 4,000 5,000 - - - - - 9,000 - - - 9,000 - - - - - - - - - 4,000 - - 4,000 4,000 5,000 - - 5,000 Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ 5,048 - 4,000 5,000 712 1,373 1,000 - - 17,133 - - - 17,133 210 - 728 491 1,744 163 115 - 3,451 6,640 1,586 - 8,226 11,677 5,456 - 47 5,503 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - - - - - - - - - - |
5,048 | 929 | ||
| - | 1,000 | |||
| 4,000 | ||||
| 5,000 | - | |||
| 712 | ||||
| 1,373 | 1,694 | |||
| 1,000 | 1,200 | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 17,133 | 4,823 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | 17,133 | 4,823 | ||
| - - - - - - - - - |
210 | 1,440 | ||
| - | 229 | |||
| 728 | 245 | |||
| 491 | ||||
| 1,744 | 896 | |||
| 163 | 84 | |||
| 115 | 14 | |||
| - | - | |||
| 3,451 | 2,908 | |||
| - - - - |
6,640 | 2,000 | ||
| 1,586 | ||||
| - | ||||
| 8,226 | 2,000 | |||
| - | 11,677 | 4,908 | ||
| 5,000 | - - - - |
5,456 | - 85 | |
| - | - | - | ||
| - | 47 | 132 | ||
| 5,000 | 5,503 | 47 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Current A/c Details Details Details Website Marketing & Safety Equipment Details Short Term Loan Long Term Loan - Trustee Long Term Loan - Trustee Contingent Liability re Website Dev'mt Accrued Equipment costs Deferred Income (re Blue Therapy) Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 503 5,000 - - - - 503 5,000 OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) Unrestricted 8,640 Unrestricted 1,586 - - - - - - - Unrestricted 32 Unrestricted 3,167 Unrestricted 2,200 Unrestricted 8,640 Unrestricted 448 Restricted 5,000 Print Name Arnold Jager Brett Scillitoe Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| 5,760 | |||
| 793 | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Date of approval |
|||
| Arnold Jager | 28th Oct'24 | ||
| Brett Scillitoe | 28th Oct'24 |