Target reached!
If we hit our target, maybe, just maybe we can stretch it and think bigger. Here is ...
Basingstoke Bluefins Swimming Club Covid Recovery
Basingstoke, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Help us recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, provide time to swim, compete, maintain health and wellbeing for youngsters in Basingstoke.
WHO ARE WE?
Basingstoke Bluefins Swimming Club is the only competitive swimming club in Basingstoke. We firmly believe it is important to offer a variety of pathways to children (and adults) to promote lifetime participation in aquatic disciplines.
Our fully inclusive programme is open to all swimmers across the aquatic disciplines. Our Swim Academy programme follows Swim England's pathways with our own Bluefins Star Awards and Swim England's Club Awards, leading into our competitive squad structure which helps prepare swimmers for competitions at all levels. And a Masters squad for 18 years – 70+. Bluefins currently boasts in excess of 42 County and 9 Regional swimmers, plus many swimmers who have participated in our national Level X competition, with 3 of our junior swimmers winning National medals.
Our swimmers are all very committed to their sport, training up to 14 hours each week. Swimmers develop through various pathways keeping physically fit, creating healthy mindsets and benefiting from the social interactions and friendships that they develop and nurture. It is essential that we continue to provide these opportunities in the future, keeping members fully engaged with the club, and a sport for life.
Why we LOVE swimming?
Supporting young people at developing attributes outside of the water, Bluefins run a strong volunteer program, opening opportunities that will provide great life skills. In addition, we also support several volunteers as part of the DofE scheme.
Bluefins have a specific tailored Sharks Disability Squad with strong links to specialist schools in the town. With a dedicated and friendly team, the squad provides children and young adults the opportunity to swim. To find out more about our Disability Squad click here.
We also have a successful Waterpolo Squad, with both Senior Men's and Senior Ladie's Team. A Junior Squad for competitive tournaments for those age 12-18 years, and an Academy Squad for those wishing to train age 8-15 years.
Check out our website for more - Basingstoke Bluefins
Why are we Crowdfunding?
We are appealing to our community, family, friends, and businesses to help raise funds to support our club after these challenging times.
Covid-19 has changed our lives in different ways, and like most organisations Bluefins Swimming Club has suffered huge financial losses. We want to protect our swimming club for local children and adults, who rely on swimming for health, wellbeing, friendships, competition and confidence.
We are a non-profit organisation, and our activities are funded by monthly membership fees from swimmers and an annual programme of Open Meets and galas. The pandemic has stopped us from running these and securing the funds used to run the club.
The club, run by a team of passionate volunteers, during lockdown have continued to provide our young swimmers with a full programme of online activities. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved despite the pandemic. This has been so important with maintaining and developing the our swimmers physical and mental wellbeing.
Please read on and help us to save our club - both for our current members and for the ones yet to be part of the Bluefins family in the future.
What will the funds help with?
The finances that we are able to raise through crowd funding, would help our club to:
- Keep our membership costs affordable, to remain an inclusive club.
- Cover increased costs needed to ensure swimming remains Covid safe.
- Retain our amazing coaching team, who have risen above and beyond, before and during COVID-19 to support our members.
- Keep our pool time to enable us to provide a comprehensive training programme for all of our members and their different needs.
- Provide a much needed mental and physical wellbeing sport for our members and the wider community.
- Provide a safe environment for our members in this lifelong sport.
- To help us safeguard against any future restrictions.
- New training equipment for better training to come back strong! On our wish list for pool equipment: Coach to Swimmer training headphones, Backstroke Start Wedge, Squad real-time Heart Rate Monitors, Poolside Training kit; Non slip mats, Medicine Balls, Ankle Weights, Pull Up Bar, Versa Climber, FINA approved competition starting blocks-for Competitions and Licensed Meets.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
No support is too small. every penny will really help.
We truly thank you in advance for any help that you can give.
Aside from donating, there are many other ways in which you can help.
- Share our story with your family, friends, and colleagues.
- Could your business be willing to donate a prize or reward for our fundraising.
- Donate to our campaign
- Share our campaign page with all of your family and friends and colleagues.
- Share our campaign with businesses both local and further afield
- Set up your own event crowd funder by clicking the 'fundraise for this cause button - with your own fundraising activity and pledge for your donations and supporters to be linked with our campaign. Try doing your own challenge and get family and friends to sponsor you.
- Offer a prize or reward for our campaign
What will your support mean?
Come Back Stronger!
Not only do we want to make up for lost time, we are also looking beyond the pandemic at how we can come back as a stronger club, able to provide more opportunities to a greater number of young swimmers in our local community. We know its ambitious, but so are we!
We want to fulfil our ambitious plans from the last season. Our team has been working to develop future plans, all we need now is the financial support to make them a reality. The opportunities we will be able to offer will make a real difference to aspiring young swimmers.
Why we are worth supporting?
The true spirit of this swimming club is friendship and family. BBFSC is more than just a swimming club, it is a family …. and we want to still be here for many more years as an integral part of the local community.
Here is what some of our current members have to say about swimming at Bluefins.
“Swimming is awesome, I’ve always loved it and how it makes me so happy” Squad Swimmer, age 12.
"Freedom, friends and fun". Master swimmer.
"Swimming is where I can let any unhappiness or stress free, Friends are awesome, encouraging and a second family. It's the best thing in the world-" Squad Swimmer, age 14
"Close friendships and pushing boundaries (and lack of sleep :))". Squad Swimmer, age 15.
"Swimming is my freedom, the club is like my family with the support and joy it brings". Squad Swimmer, age 17.
OWN IT!
Bluefins Fundraising Challenge Series 2021
We really want everyone to get involved in this fundraising, so we are asking that members set their own challenges and get sponsorship from family and friends who can donate right here to help reach our target. Just set up a ‘multiplier’. This is your club, let's do what we do best and come together to get this done.
- CHALLENGE 1: Running a Marathon 10th April is one of our Masters swimmers, and also a Bluefins Parent. CHALLENGE COMPLETE! Ran in 3:25.40 and raising a whopping £690.
CHALLENGE 2: Junior Race Squad and Coach Emily swimming the distance between Aquadrome and London Aquatic. Junior Race Squad Challenge Page
CHALLENGE 3: 1 MILLION METRE Challenge. Swimmers in Senior Race Squad are attempting to swim 1 million metres by 31st May. Senior Race Squad- 1 Million Metres
Challenge 4: Tokyo Olympic Games Challenge. Swimmers in Junior Performance Squad are attempting to swim all the swim events of an Olympic games in one session on the 23rd May. Junior Performance Squad
Challenge 5: Swimmers will be swimming as many 100’s as they can in 2 hours. Senior Performance 100’s Challenge
Challenge 6: Lily-Mae is our Junior Race Squad has taken on her own perosnal challeneg to help raise money for the club, and will be running 1km every hour for 24 hours. Lily-Mae's 24 in 24
Challenge 7: Swimmers will be taking part in an evening a relay races in teams Senior Comp Relays
Challenge 8: Bluefins Coach Spencer (and some friends mad enough) will be cycling up/down Farleigh Hill south of Basingstoke, continuously for 24hrs, attempting to climb more than the height of Everest (8848 metres) Everesting- Farleigh Hill for 24 hrs.........
Challenge 9: Sam from SPS will ride from Basingstoke to Windsor Great Park and back again, a distance of around 75 miles. Sam's ride to Windsor
Challenge 10: Junior Competitive Challenge
Challenge 11: Skills Academy Distance Badge Challenge
Challenge 12: Pre-Squad Skills Academy Distance Badge Challenge
We intend to run a series of Crowdfunder prize draws and other activities as part of our 'Challenge Series' in order to help us reach our target and secure the extra Sport England funding. Please join in and support our club as much as you can, either by donating or by sharing our campaign far and wide. We really do need your support to help us keep Bluefins running for all our members, both current and future.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ... we really couldn't do this without you
Our Crowdfunding Objective
Our target is to raise £10,000 from a minimum of 50 supporters. Once we have raised 25% of our target, we can get our Sport England ‘Active Together’ Match Funding of up to 40%. Once we get to 60%, will get to keep the additional funds from Sport England.***** If our campaign is successful Sport England will match fund the 40% if we qualify under rules.
Below are details and links to our corporate contributors, any further donations will be gratefully received throughout the campaign:
Contributors with live rewards -
https://www.facebook.com/StyledbyShaniece
https://www.sarahgauntphotography.co.uk/
https://www.basingstokesoccercentre.co.uk/
https://www.charlottemcdonald.co.uk/sports-massage
Steve Allison Training and Development
Sport England: Active Together has provided £4,000 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 1st June 2021