London Thunder Floor Replacement

Aim: Help us fund the replacement of the damaged basketball courts at London Thunder Basketball club.

We Did it!

Thanks to all of you for helping us raise the funding to replace one of the courts at London Thunder.  It's an amazing to see our community come together and support the club.  The first court has been fitted and we are continuing to raise the funds needed for the second court.  We look forward to opening our doors again on Wednesday 12th July.

Thanks again, you really have helped! 

Here's a sneak peek at the new court.

Who are we?

London Thunder is a community club that uses basketball and physical activity to help marginalised young people to be healthy, enjoy, achieve and have fun in a safe and supportive environment.

We engage around 15,000 young people in basketball each year. We develop basketball players and give all our young club members access to training to become official coaches, referees and table officials. This training is an exit route in terms of what basketball can do for people outside of playing sports.

We are based in Lewisham, one of the country's most diverse and disadvantaged areas; our aim and priorities are to support some of the broader exclusionary factors experienced by underprivileged families.

How our project will be united by Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Our venue began as an empty warehouse when we fitted the existing floor, which came second-hand from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games venue.

Our connection to the Commonwealth Games didn't stop there. Our young people at London Thunder have been inspired by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in which our Director of Basketball, Steve Bucknall, Head of Talent and Performance for Basketball England, created two medal-winning teams.

 We want to use the momentum of the Commonwealth Games' success to continue to inspire young people through basketball and help to grow the next generation of England's basketball champions. We have positively impacted our community through our contact with local children, many of whom find a second home at our club.

 With your support will be able to continue to inspire young players in the legacy of the Commonwealth Games.

This year we have been very successful, with 11 of our players being selected to the 1st round of ASPIRE Super Region Camp, which aims to develop the basketball and life skills of talented 11-15-year-olds who can play for England and Great Britain. This is a massive achievement for these players, mainly from BAME backgrounds within the local Lewisham community.

Being selected is the first step to being selected to the London Region Team that will head to the All-Star National Tournament held at National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester in 2023. Four of these players have been selected for the England U14 and U15 Squads for 2023.

Our ability to inspire our players in the legacy of the Commonwealth Games and grow the next generation of champions hangs on us getting a new floor fitted in the court. 

The current one has had its day, and we urgently need funding to provide a new one. We have been told that the floor cannot be refurbished again and has less than a year's use.

 Please have a look at the fantastic team England training for the Commonwealth games at our facility: https://thunderbasketball.net/congratulations-team-england/

Our community programmes

Our sessions are for those just starting out in basketball or currently playing at their school and who want to develop their skills.

 Sessions are organised into age groups:

• Under 12s mixed
• Under 14s male and female
• Under 16s male and female
• Under 18s male and female
• Men's and women's teams
• Holiday camps for children from 8 to 16 years

Our impact on our community

Many young people from marginalised backgrounds benefit from our activities. London Thunder offers a safe space where our members feel a sense of belonging, resilience, and self-empowerment.

We impact our community by sustaining engagement in a healthy activity and in a space where young people are empowered to reach their full potential.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding to raise money to replace our floor, which has lasted over ten years but is now in urgent need of repair.  We are desperate to keep our doors open to the many children who rely on our facilities and whose families often struggle financially to support their children. 

Our beloved and much-used basketball court has become damaged beyond repair. We have been advised that the only solution is to remove this and replace it with a new floor, which is costly.

Our existing floor has many areas of damage, and the boards are slowly rising, leaving too much flexibility underfoot, which is increasingly a health and safety concern. It also creates 'dead spots, ' meaning the ball does not bounce appropriately. This negatively impacts the playing experience for all our community participants and club players.

Why this is important

We have more than 15,000 attendances across our community and national league programmes annually. We are a volunteer-led organisation that keeps participants' costs as low as possible and never turns a child away. Our community offer includes sessions for children and adults and relies on us having a court to play on.

How we'll spend the money raised

Removing the two full-size sprung floor basketball courts and laying the new floor will cost £85,000.

 This Crowdfunder campaign will get us closer to our target! However, we will also be fund raising over the summer to make up any shortfall and intend on holding a 3x3 tournament where children can be sponsored to play.

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

1. Pledge. Don't delay if you will support us because momentum is critical 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. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes, and you won't need any bank details.

 Just some idea!

Rewards

We have a number and rewards to offer to contributors, including entry into a prize draw.  The prize draw will take place at London Thunder on Sunday 28th May 2023.  All prizes will be given out on this day and either hand delivered to local addresses or postage arranged at no extra cost to supporters.