Newcastle Swim Team Covid Recovery Fund

Aim

The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our finances and so we are raising funds to help secure the future of our Club.

Who are we?

We are Newcastle Swim Team, the leading Competitive Swimming Club in Northumberland and Durham. We have over 250 members who compete at all levels from local and county galas up to National and International competition including the Commonwealth Games, European and World Championships. We are an ambitious club aiming to achieve at every level but it’s about more than simply results in the pool. Our club looks to develop independence and confidence amongst all our squads and members, with everyone being very much part of the team here at Newcastle, maintaining a lifelong love of the sport and a real sense of team spirit. During lockdown, our swimmers missed their swim family just as much as they missed being in the pool.

Our swimmers come from every corner of Newcastle upon Tyne and beyond, with our youngest members aged just 7 years old and our oldest being 60.  We are proud to offer training programmes for our para athletes who achieve consistently exceptional results at both in National and International competitions.

From Grassroots to Team GB

We work across Newcastle with a number of Learn to Swim programmes to offer a pathway into competitive swimming once lessons come to an end.  Our Dolphin galas, for the very youngest swimmers, provide the first opportunity to race against peers but above all, these galas are fun and they help to build the first foundations in what we hope is a lifetime in love with the sport. Swimming is well known to be hugely beneficial for both mental and physical wellbeing and is a life skill that is so vital to have. We nurture enthusiasm, encourage ambition and hope that through this Crowdfunding project, we can secure our future and enable other swimmers to achieve their dreams and perhaps even join Team GB, just as some of our alumni have in recent years.

Reaching out into the local community

Our Dolphin Galas reach out into the wider learn to swim community across Newcastle, giving young swimmers a chance to come together and race for fun, bringing lots of smiley faces at the end of the day with lots of medals.   This also enables the club to work with teachers and coaches across the city by offering free access to our in-house coaching CPD's.  The club also runs an annual fundraiser each year for Level Water, a charity that offers free swimming lessons to children with disabilities, raising over £3,000 for this worthy cause last year alone. 

The effects of Covid19 on the club

We're a proud bunch up here in the North East and we really love our sport. It's been a tough time for the city and the region as a whole but we're a community and we're pulling together. The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a huge challenge to our Club, as it has with countless others, and has had a significant impact on our finances. Where we have previously been able to rely on income from hosting gala competitions bringing £25,000 - £30,000 in revenue each year, this regular income has been completely lost to the Club.  This income is used to support the club in paying our coaches, paying our pool hire and keeping fees as low as possible to our members.   In addition, the pandemic has impacted our day to day operation with the closure of our main training pool and having to restructure the squads to adapt to different pool availability at different locations across the city.  We have also had to look at how we deliver our training in a socially distanced manner under Swim England guidance and have had to take more pool lane space to accommodate keeping everyone at a safe distance.  As a result of these changes, our pool hire costs have increased, something which we are desperately trying to avoid having to pass on to our members. 

 What will these funds be used for? 

During the pandemic we suspended all fees to members to help them through this difficult time and despite some parents choosing to voluntarily donate to the club during this period, for which we are incredibly grateful, this sadly didn’t help to curb the significant losses. Loss of gala revenue has left a big gap in our income and we have a responsibility to our coaches and the members who swim with us to support both them and the Club. The money raised will go towards filling the financial gap in what we would have been earning had the pandemic not struck. This will help ensure that the club can continue to develop swimmers for many more years to come.

Your support means a huge amount to the Club and on behalf of all the swimmers, parents, volunteers, coaches and committee, thank you for your very kind donation.

This project successfully funded on 21st December 2020