Considered to be one of Scotland's most important water-sports venues, Cumbrae Watersports Centre made a real splash as it celebrated its 40th birthday recently.
The sportscotland's national centre has played a vital role in developing sailing and water-sport activity in Scotland for four decades, and a special anniversary event was held at the centre, with visitors coming to an official reception from as far as Spain.
Centre Principal John Kent said: "It is really quite amazing that the Marquis of Bute opened Scotland's first national watersports centre which was quite a leap of faith for the Scottish Sports Council. The Marquis donated this land for the nation's advancement and participation in watersports.
"From that beginning, the centre has gone from strength to strength in its 40 years of operation. Cumbrae has certainly contributed to the advancement of watersports over all those years, and for the first time last year, Cumbrae had 2500 individuals coming over, with 350 cruising, we trained 17 instructors, 150 people came on paddle sports courses, and we delivered curriculum of excellence and Duke of Edinburgh based courses, and on top of all that, providing outreach around the world, the UK, and worldwide in sea survival, navigation, coach education and events with the Scottish Sailing Institute. Cumbrae over 40 years has really moved on into all these areas.
"You have Olympic sailors, schoolchildren, adults, beginners to experts, trained professionals, club support, and sailors who go on take part in the America's Cup - that is quite unique, and Cumbrae safely introduces people into the marine world, and we share a passion for everything to do with watersports.
"We value the support from Sportscotland, trust board members, local councillors, MP, MSP, Field Studies Centre, Ocean Youth Trust, British and Scottish Sub Aqua, Royal Yachting Association, and Scottish Canoeing Association - we are very pleased these organisations support us and have attended our 40th anniversary celebrations."
Local MP Patricia Gibson and MSP Kenneth Gibson joined senior sportscotland officials for the event which included the opportunity to experience some of the water-sports at Cumbrae including sailing, paddle sports, power boating and windsurfing.
MP Patricia Gibson said: “I’m very proud to have been invited to celebrate such an important part of Scotland’s sporting heritage. The national centre here at Cumbrae has supported athletes and coaches and been central to the development of water-sports over the last 40 years and I’m sure it will continue to do so for another 40 years.” said Patricia Gibson MP.
MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “We are fortunate to have such an important facility in our local area. It provides lots of opportunities for the local community and athletes alike to experience and develop in a range of water-sports ensuring our sporting system is working at every level.”
Working with partners such as RYA Scotland, sportscotland have invested significant funds in the national centre to support the athletes and staff to produce medal winning performances. In creating a world class sporting system they have also helped with the development programme that ensures water-sports is in a very healthy position in Scotland.
sportscotland CEO Stewart Harris said: “A National Centre such as Cumbrae provides the ideal situation for elite athletes to excel while offering opportunities to the wider public to experience the sport helping it grow. Cumbrae is a popular destination for schools and this March saw the first primary school to undertake the ‘John Muir Award’, highlighting water-sports growing appeal.” 
Current Olympic qualifiers Luke Patience and Charlotte Dobson and double gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE all have a long association with the centre having honed their skills on the surrounding Firth of Clyde. Stephen Park who achieved his Olympic dream as one of the country's most celebrated Olympic sailing managers joined the guests at the celebration.
Stephen commented: “Cumbrae has been pivotal to the success of Scottish sailing over the last 40 years and is essential to the growth of our sport going forward. It provides the perfect conditions for athletes and coaches to learn and develop helping them to challenge at the very highest level.”
Cumbrae National Centre has been a training base for a number of national squads and will play host to the GBR Topper squad this month as part of their ongoing training programme.