Who are we?
Atlantic Racquet Centre is a community racquet & fitness centre where everyone can exercise, socialise and learn together.
The centre is a volunteer led community business and charity focused on improving the health & wellbeing of all local people. We offer court & gym hire, memberships and coaching across our 10 tennis courts, 3 badminton courts, 2 table tennis tables and brand new gym & fitness facilities. The final stage of our ambitious project will include Squash courts, a multi-sport space and a community Café.
Community impact
ARC's mission to improve the health & wellbeing of all local people has led to the centre delivering free sport & exercise projects to over 3000 children every year. Over 1000 local people access our genuinely affordable membership scheme, with memberships ranging from £8.00 per month for a whole family. 97% of ARC users would recommend the centre to a friend or family member, so why not get involved?
Why are we crowdfunding?
Since the closure of several local Squash courts including Lenwood, Cedars, and most recently Barnstaple Leisure centre, North Devon is currently left entirely without any publicly accessible courts - we feel its our responsibility to change that! Since starting in the year 2000, almost the entire project has so far been realised through grant funding and public donations. We're now asking for you're support to help us add Squash to our community racquet & fitness centre.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All money raised will be spent on the installation of two glass back Squash courts in the upstairs space of our current building. If the final funds required are raised, we're hoping to install them in October 2022.
How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022
The fact that Squash is featured as one of the core sports in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham means that August is a fantastic time to be launching our initiative. Its our hope that Birmingham 2022 will help to capture the imaginations of local people and re-ignite their interest in Squash and sport in general. Support our campaign and help us take Squash from your TV set and in to your community for you and your family to enjoy.
How you can play your part
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. Create a fundraiser of your own. Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!