Hatfield Swim Club - help us keep swimming

Aim: Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis has affected our members. We are raising funds to pay for the increasing cost of our pools.

Who are we?

Hatfield Swim Club's goal is the promotion of community participation in sport, specifically swimming. We believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to access swimming coaching and facilities. We offer all our members the opportunity to achieve their highest potential and to be the best they can be within a friendly, but purposeful environment. We run an elite swimming programme and have representation at national and international meets including the World Championships and Olympics.

Community impact

Swimming is a life skill that promotes physical, as well as mental health. Evidence published in the Government's Covid-19 Mental Health Wellbeing and Surveillance report suggests that the mental health of some children and teenagers has been impacted by the effects of the pandemic - a proportion reporting that they are facing increasing feelings of anxiety and loneliness. During the Covid lockdowns, our club managed to motivate our swimmers by providing group virtual training sessions, group opportunities to chat with peers and coaches, and zoom chats with GB Olympians.

We would like to continue to dissipate the mental effects of the pandemic on our swimmers as they return back to the sport they love.

Why are we crowdfunding?

As we return back to normal our coaches are working hard to continue to run our quality programme whilst ensuring that our young members feel connected and maintain their motivation/drive.

However the problem that we now face is the cost of living crisis. With increasing energy and fuel costs, our pool hire costs are spiralling. We are desperately trying to maintain our membership fees and not increase them to cover the higher pool costs because we know that some parents are already struggling with their monthly subscriptions.

We also know from our swimmers that their training is valuable in maintaining their mental and physical health. It would be a shame to deprive them of our sessions because of lack of affordability.

How we’ll spend the money raised

We will spend the money raised to pay for pool hire at our two venues - Hertfordshire Swim Village and Hatfield Swim Centre. We will also allocate 25% of the funds collected to create a "Hardship Fund" that will be used to pay the membership costs for disadvantaged families whose children stand the risk of leaving the sport they love entirely. 

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 by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Create a fundraiser of your own. Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!