Impact Fitness:Safe Space: Realise Sporting Talent

Aim: Impact Fitness: creating safe and inclusive gym for disadvantaged communities living in deprivation. We need funds to help with equipment.

We have acquired our 'new home'- 'a safe and inclusive space' gym located in Birmingham inner city area, B11.  We require some funding to help set it up.

WHO WE ARE: Impact Fitness Academy, CIC established in 2016. We are a sports development club. We are focused on sports as a route to engaging socially, economically, and culturally disadvantaged children, young people, women and families living in inner city areas of Birmingham.  Our purpose is to help transform lives by creating a sports facility which will be accessible to all communities, in particular disadvantaged and excluded communities. By offering a ‘safe and inclusive space’ to be active, become healthy, build resilience and develop skills to realise their sporting potential. 

Our programmes include Freestyle Wrestling, Boxing and Body conditioning classes, training, volunteering, coaching opportunities, and career pathway plans. At present we offer Wrestling programmes from grassroots to national and European competitive level. We plan to offer the same opportunities through Boxing once we are fully equipped with a Boxing ring.

WHO WE WORK WITH AND WHY: We reach out and connect with disenfranchised children and young people (aged 5 to 17) and families, particularly from black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, in areas where community centres, youth groups struggle to engage; with low life prospects and high unemployment; low education attainment and high risk of exposure to disruptive anti-social behaviours (drugs, substance, alcohol abuse, criminality, street gang violence); with high health disparities; as recently demonstrated by the Covid19 pandemic.

WHAT WE DO: We enable and encourage individuals to build skills, self confidence and improve their emotional and physical well being. By engaging with physical activity, promoting being active and remaining active,  making positive lifestyle choices; developing life skills and realising sporting aspiration to reach potential. Our programmes are aligned to 3 key strands:

1.Sport/ Community engagement: RISE: our free Wrestling programme, a staged approach to engaging children and young people (aged 5-17) from getting active (engagement); to remain active (progression); to develop potential sports career pathways (legacy).

2.Sport Development and Progression: to generate our own income through trading, we offer a range of fee paying, membership based classes for children, young people and adults.

• SLAM: Wrestling
• KNOCKOUT: Boxing 
• Hosting National ‘SLAM Annual Olympic Wrestling’ Tournament 
• Participation at national and international Wrestling competitions. For those high achieving students; as a root to further exposure, experience and potential recruitment to ‘Team GB’ 

3.Getting Active/ Wellbeing Programmes (Covid19 response plan):  These are in development, pending the set up of our 'safe and inclusive space' gym.   

• Fire UP: Older people and carers, 55+ only exercise sessions  
• Power UP: Women only exercise sessions
• Empower UP: children and young people with Learning Disabilities 
• Engage UP: a wellbeing and sport progression programme for young people not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). 
• Homework club for children and young people, who may attend other sports sessions, (and their siblings) to help with numeracy and literacy catch up.

WHAT WE NEED FUNDING FOR: In order to deliver our planned programmes we have acquired a new venue, in the heart of Birmingham’s inner city, on the boarders Sparkhill and Tyesley in B11. This is an exciting opportunity for us to create a ‘safe and inclusive space’ gym which will be accessible for all our members. However, in order for the gym to be fully operational, safe and fit for purpose we need to carry out some minor renovations work and buy the necessary Wrestling and Boxing training equipment. 

All the monies we collect from this crowd funder will go towards the cost of the following items listed below.   

• 1.Renovations £4500   a. Ceiling replacement; b. minor building works and decoration 
• 2.New carpet  £800   Hallway and homework room 
• 3.Health and safety approved 16ft high platform Boxing ring £4599.99 (We need this to become affiliated members of British Boxing Association)
• 4.4 Punch bags geezers.com  £500  (For Boxing and Body Conditioning training
• 5.3 x Rolled out Wrestling Mats Cover £6000.00  
• 6. Promat Hybrid roll out mat connect 12x1.5x40mm £1805.76
• 7. Promat Wall Pads x 7  £700.00
• 8.Signage/Banners outdoors £370.00  (For the outside of our gym to be welcoming for all member
• 9.Pull up bars x3   £228.00 (for Body Conditioning)
• 10.Boxing Gloves x 10  £350.00 (different sizes to accommodate all students) 

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES OUR WORK MAKE : Our programmes are alternative to being on the streets, learning antisocial behaviours, youth offending, adopting unhealthy lifestyles. Our programmes focus on being active, healthy, developing skills, confidence, resilience and determination. Students are being prepared for greatness, by falling in love with sports, finding other avenues to express themselves - their lives are transformed. As they increase their fitness levels and start to see what they are capable of, they start believing in themselves, developing ambition, potential, self belief and become health conscious adults. 

Key Individual Outcomes:

• Increased potential: self-confidence, self-belief and self esteem
• Increased health and fitness: being active, enjoy and achieve, play
• Increased potential to realise sporting talent
• Nurture their creativity, individuality and aspirations
• Develop leadership, teamwork abilities, positive role modelling 
• Develop respect for diversity, equalities and breaking down cultural barriers 
• Develop mental and physical agility, stamina, resilience, core strength
• Reduced risk of becoming NEET (not in education, training or employment)
• Enhance educational attainment
• Increased adoption of healthier lifestyles choices and reduction to risks of becoming victims of abuse 
• Reduction in risk of being influenced by negative/anti-social behaviours
  

Some of our Successes include:

• 1.Successfully engaged over 5000 local communities, from Birmingham’s deprived wards, including Handsworth, Lozells, Aston, Washwood Heath, Alum Rock, Balsall Heath, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Tyseley.
• 2. 600 chyp, aged 5-17 engaged with Rise Programme, of which 200 continued to sport progression
• 3. 5 chyp, have become British Champions in Olympic Wrestling.
• 5. Mentored 35 young people who were NEET to re-engage back in the community with a positive attitude to education and training.
• 6. Won 95 medals at national level competitions.
• 7. 5 students selected to compete in an international competition in Estonia, 2023.
• 8. We are the only sports club in Birmingham to host national Olympic Wrestling Competition.  Since 2018 over 500 children and young people have participated, from as far as Ireland and Scotland.
• 9. Role models - 3 Pakistani women have completed level 1 wrestling coach qualification, 2021. They will run all our women only programmes once our 'safe and inclusive space gym is fully operational.
• 10. Successfully, engaged local communities with the build up to Birmingham’s commonwealth games 2022 celebrations. Enabling those excluded and disadvantaged children, young people and families to engage positively with Birmingham’s hosting of the commonwealth games and ensure our city’s diverse communities are fully represented in these celebrations.  Official members of Unltd, Birmingham, 2022
• Our biggest success is that all of these sporting achievements are from children, young people and adults from BAME communities living in inner city wards of Birmingham.

Our vision and legacy will be training young, children and young people to be representing team GB as professional Wrestlers/ Boxers in future commonwealth and Olympic games.

Testimonials-Parents of some our our students told us: 

• 1."Impact Fitness Academy provide inspiring services for young people. They have excellent community based coaches, real role models. My kids love the classes. A great asset to the community and highly recommended for all ages". 
• 2."Exceptional training provided from beginners to advance level. The classes  for beginners are fun and interactive where the kids learn without realising that they are working to stay healthy. All youngsters are made to feel welcome and are trained in pressure free environment".   
• 3. "Thank you my child's life has been transformed, we now have hope"
• 4 "It's like a miracle, my child is so health and fitness focused now, and hopes to play at competitions"
  
• Further information: please our website www.impactfitnessacademy.com