Help Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club

Aim

COVID-19 has created an uncertain future for sports clubs, and our future is in doubt. Can you help keep us going and support our swimmers?

• Who are we:

Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club has been successfully teaching children and young adults to swim, and then compete at very high levels for many years. 

The club is run by volunteers, with a small group of employed sports coaches here to give the swimmers the best experience and training that we can.

We have an established learn to swim programme, as well as many talented swimmers competing at regional and national level.

We have swimmers on national and regional programmes that are providing inspiration to the younger generation and a wonderful team ethos that makes it a joy for all swimmers, parents and coaches to attend the club.

Our achievements:

We are the current Leicester League winners, a title which we achieved before the pandemic in 2019. We also won this league in 2017, and we are looking forward to a time when this can happen again.

This year alone we have 3 swimmers on Swim England pathways programmes, 3 on regional development programmes and 7 on county pathway programmes.

But our club is about more than this. It is about developing health and fitness, about being part of a social network, and about teaching a generation how to aspire to achieve goals and targets whether that is in the water, coaching, teaching, officiating or volunteering.

Why are we asking for help?

Unfortunately this years pandemic has made things very difficult for clubs. We are a self funded club, and since lockdown in March operating costs, and return to pool costs have significantly increased and the club is now operating at a financial loss.

We have been unable to run our open meets, have not charged fees at all for the duration of the lockdown despite ongoing financial costs and with another lockdown commencing our pot of reserves is draining very quickly.

We are doing everything we can to ensure the survival of the club, so please support us if you feel able to. We are a club that means a lot to everyone involved, we are a swimming family and we don't want to lose everything that has been developed over the last 40 years.

Lockdown 1:

During the first lockdown our entire swimming community undertook a series of challenges. First the coaches and swimmers competed against the parents and siblings to see who could travel the furthest during a set period of time. Secondly we then set ourselves a collective target of travelling to Fukuoka, where the next World Championships are taking place. The club means so much to so many people, and shines through in the spirit of all our members.

Individual swimmers also undertook a variety of innovative ways of staying fit, and we enjoyed sharing these with each other!

Rewards:

We have a variety of rewards on offer for our supporters, some of which are limited in numbers and are done on a first come first served basis. We are delighted that we have so many fantastic rewards on offer, and more will be added in coming days.

We must express our huge thanks to the following supporters for donating the rewards to our campaign:

Rhubard and Mustard Cafe, Nuneaton

Allens of Kingsbury

Mount Kelly Swimming

Hayley Moulton

Secretary of Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club

LB Photography (Leanne Brookes)

Healing Soles Mobile Footcare by Katie

What the club means to our members:

Testimonial 1:

My daughter has been swimming with the club since the age of 8. The swimmers she has grown up with have become friends, and coaches mentors. Confidence has grown and the swimming club has become a huge part of her life. For both exercise and honing the skills required for adult life (responsibility/ownership/commitment/knowledge)

Testimonial 2:

Swimming has become a huge part of our family life since my daughter joined the club when she was 5. 7 years later after joining just to help gain her confidence, she now see swimming as her life. She has additional needs and the club have been amazing with her from the start supporting her to get to where she is today. She is addicted, and this is just the focus she needs. It has also become a family sport, as it has helped me gain qualifications I never thought I would have. It means I can be there to support her and the club with events and during training which is a massive honour. I couldn't imagine life without swimming in it and for that I have the club to thank. Truly a life saver in more ways than one.

Testimonial 3:

We believe that through the opportunities offered by the club our children have developed a sense of purpose and wellbeing, qualities which they have taken into their life outside of the club. The club offers all members a chance to develop themselves and their skills whether through coaching, timekeeping, judging or organising social events. The club is at the heart of the community.

Testimonial 4:

Since joining Nuneaton and Bedworth Dolphins, my daughters enthusiasm and dedication to swimming has increased. She looks forward to the coaching sessions and talks fondly about the different coaches at the club. She is pushed forwards in her development which has not only increased her fitness levels but her overall confidence in herself. She has enjoyed the competition aspect and the opportunity to compete against others. Tehya has not only developed physically but also socially as a person. As parents, it is very much part of our life taking her to sessions, events, meeting other people and being proud of her achievements.

Testimonial 5:

From the moment my daughter joined Nuneaton and Bedworth Dolphins she was welcomed into a family of swimmers, coaches and helpers. She has developed beyond all our expectations thanks to the belief and encouragement of all her coaches, She is genuinely never happier than when she is in the water. The club provides and outlet for her endless energy and in her words encourages her to 'work hard and achieve her goals'. And as a parents I can't ask for anything more than that.

Testimonial 6:

Both of our children swim with NBSC and they enjoy every minute of it. With the support and guidance of their highly skilled coaches, they are continually growing into faster and stronger swimmers. They have also developed lots of great friendships along the way, helping to create a great sense of team within the club. We can see that the positive experiences our children are receiving from NBSC are promoting a lifelong love of this sport within them.

Testimonial 7:

My daughter has been a member of the NBSC for the last five years. The quality of the coaching has been excellent as she has progressed through the club. She is now coached by Sarah, herself a former commonwealth medallist who’s knowledge, experience and passion for the sport has enabled her to develop an amazing swimming squad many of which are excelling competitively but more importantly, all of them have the same passion and commitment to swimming. The swimmers train over 10 hours a week, training at 6a.m. both before school and at weekends when many of their peers would be sound asleep, all working exceptionally hard to achieve their goals. The benefits for these young swimmers both physically and mentally cannot be underestimated, the impact that the health pandemic has had on this particular sport is significant, if pools are closed, swimmers cannot train. The thought of the club being unsustainable for our current and future generations of swimmers is devastating, their hopes and ambitions destroyed. I speak personally for my daughter and for the whole swimming family at NBSC, please help to save our club.

Thankyou to everyone for your support

This project successfully funded on 5th December 2020