Burnley Bobcats - Keep Our Kids Swimming Appeal

Who are we?

Burnley Bobcats has almost 50 years of history; originally started as a training squad to provide children in the borough of Burnley with the opportunity to pursue their competitive goals. Since then, we have grown into a fully inclusive, volunteer run, community swimming club operating through the East Lancashire area. Bobcats continue to develop, striving to provide the optimum environment for all members to achieve their goals.

Our Vision is to inspire children and young adults in East Lancashire to become healthier, safer, grow in confidence and to be proud of their achievements.

We value our commitment, teamwork, responsibility and positivity. These values are shared by our professional coaching team and volunteers to ensure we remain firmly swimmer centered. We continue to push the boundaries and provide access to children from all backgrounds and all levels of income, supporting where we can to, ensure that everyone gets a fair chance to swim to the best of the ability. 

Why are we crowdfunding?

Despite the efforts of our fantastic fund-raising team, brilliant swimmers and parents who also recently helped raise money for our chosen charity Derian House and last year for Pendleside Hospice through our sponsored swim, we head into the new financial year facing a deficit. Not only that, but we have plans to develop a Masters programme to maintain swimming for those not in our current squads. A number of our former Bobcats swimmers have expressed an interest in getting back in the pool - and we need your help to make that happen! 

Our volunteer committee work tirelessly throughout the year with initiatives, fund raising and galas to provide our 170 swimmers with high level training facilities and experiences to learn, grow and stay active. We provide children from 7 to 18 with swimming opportunities from local friendly leagues through to regional and national level but also even just the opportunity to swim regularly, meet new people and enjoy the sport. We want to extend this from 18 to...118! Although it isn't just about numbers, we hope to increase from 170 members to 200 in the next 6 months, and eventually 250. 

We do however rely heavily on grants as well as separate fund raising alongside our club fees to keep the club viable. Access to sponsorship and grants during the last 12-18 months has been particularly difficult, alongside hugely expensive pool hire costs and as we enter the new financial year, we need help from the local community to allow us to continue this hard work and keep our children swimming, long into the future. 

How we’ll spend the money raised

All the money raised goes straight back into the club and keeping it running. It costs around £180k a year to run a club like ours and sadly we face the constant battle to raise funds to keep the club viable. Recent years have been extremely difficult however despite this we have still been able to provide external activities for the swimmers and ensuring that their time with Bobcats is as enjoyable and fulfilling as it can possibly be.

We constantly reinvest in events, equipment, coaching and training to give an experience that the swimmers will always remember. Alongside this, funds go towards raising the profile of the club attracting new members and giving even more children the opportunity to swim. One of the exciting opportunities we are hoping to start with your help is our Bobcats ADM Masters Programme for those outside of the 7-18yo age bracket. Since the club was established in 1977 by Mr Alan Moorhouse MBE, hundreds of lives have been positively impacted in Burnley and beyond. Many former Bobcats have expressed an interest in getting back in the pool with the provision of a Masters' programme. This will be funded through this crowdfunder - including coach time, pool hire and equipment. 

Whatever we raise will also be aimed at ensuring that the club can become more financially viable and allow us to work more closely with the local community and businesses to help grow and support each other as well. 

Community impact

Burnley Bobcats have a long-standing history within the local area with many people having been part of our fantastic club over the years, and with many coming back to help us again after they finish swimming. Our swimmers and parents first join the club to become better swimmers and perhaps compete but soon realise that its more than just a swimming club and the sense of community and friendship make it all the more rewarding. 

It is getting harder and harder for our local swimming clubs to stay viable with rising costs of pool hire and other significant operating costs, without even considering any development plans like Masters programmes. Normal budgets are being stretched and access to support is diminished in our current climate however we can't let this force our local community clubs to close.

Without access to the outlet and focus which our swimming club provides our children will undoubtably be worse off. The physical and mental health benefits alone make investing in our club worthwhile not to mention what swimmers can and have achieved with us. 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards & get involved. If you are a local business, please donate a gift or service we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Partner with us. If you are a local business, then we would love to work with you for advertising. We have spent significant effort to make Bobcats marketable and feel we can give back to local businesses as well so please get in touch to find out how. Just a short conversation can lead to great partnerships to boost your business.