We're still collecting donations
On the 7th August 2023 we'd raised £200 with 14 supporters in 56 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
We are raising funds to help to pay for our pool hire costs which have increased enormously over the last four years.
by Sedgefield Water Polo Club in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, United Kingdom
On the 7th August 2023 we'd raised £200 with 14 supporters in 56 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
We are a very successful water polo club based in the North East of England at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre and has been running since 1997. In that time, we have become the leading club for junior water polo in the North East.
We are very proud of our achievements and the hard work of our players with some of our recent achievements being:
Sedgefield Water Polo Club provides sessions five times a week for the differing age groups (from age 7 up to adult). The club is the most successful water polo club in the North East and provides opportunities to local youngsters that they would not receive elsewhere.
We have a fabulous team of committee members who help to organise and coach training sessions and competitions so that all of our members have equal opportunities to train and to play in competitions and tournaments at home and away.
We are supporters of the "This Girl Can" programme to promote and encourage girls and women to take part in sporting activities. We hope that the numbers of girls that we attract continues to increase so that in the future we have a Sedgefield Ladies team.
There are however, many expenses connected with running the club and we rely on income from membership fees and fundraising which have been severely impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic our club had to cease training as the leisure centres were closed, we lost valuable membership fees, opportunities to fundraise and unfortunately some of our members who didn't return once life returned to normal. We are now challenged with the effects of the cost of living crisis which is having a huge impact on families in the North East and across the country.
A major expense for our club is the payment of pool hire fees which have increased by over 400% over the last four years. This as well as the challenges posed through the covid pandemic to maintain and recruit members have impacted our club greatly.
We are passionate about raising money to cover our increased pool hire costs so that we can keep our membership fees at level which is affordable to families during the cost of living crisis. We want to share the benefits of training and playing water polo to as many children and local people in our local area as we can without excluding any due to cost,
The money will be used to pay for the clubs pool hire costs, therefore keeping our membership fees at an affordable level. This will ensure the long term continuity of our club for all its members and to bring on future talent for regional and national selection. As well as providing long term opportunities for our members to further their future development as young leaders and coaches.
Children taking part in team sports develop social skills; communication skills; gain improved self-confidence; are taught respect and sportsmanship; are more able to deal with pressure; and become part of a community of players and fans. These skills and attributes help to produce the next generation of our community, helping them gain purposeful employment and provide them with the skill set to feed back support to their local community.
We also encourage players to support our club by helping on poolside and training as coaches, providing them with excellent skills for their future careers. Many of the players parents volunteer to coach and help on our committee creating a family atmosphere within our club.
We hold regular social activities including our yearly Club Presentation Evening to help to bring all our members together to celebrate the club's and individuals achievements.
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. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – 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 a fun idea!
This project offered rewards