Stratford Sharks Swimming Club Covid appeal

Aim

SSASC is aiming to raise £6,000 by July 12th to keep our club thriving throughout this crisis and our transition back to full-time swim

SSASC is aiming to raise £6,000 by July 12th 2020 (extended from July 7th) to keep our club thriving throughout this crisis and our transition back to full-time swimming.

Who are we and what do we do? 

SSASC is a friendly, local competitive swimming club based in Stratford-upon-Avon. Our aim is to inspire and enable our members to achieve excellence in swimming and in life by providing a positive environment for the teaching, coaching and development of aquatics.

We strive for our members to reach individual & team goals, improve performance, build character & self esteem and excel in competitive swimming. We welcome anyone with a passion for swimming and a desire to improve.

With squads varying from Academy through to Masters we have squads for all ages.

Why are we raising funds? 

Since March due to the Covid-19 crisis, we've been unable to swim.  Swimming is a fantastic sport and we have 200 members that are missing the pool and their swim friends.
We have also been unable to take in new members which we know will be disappointing to anyone in the local community wanting to start swimming with the club. Many swimmers that have learnt to swim at the local pool look to progress to the next level with us.

We made the decision to stop collecting full training fees and rely on donations. That said, our limited cash reserves were not designed for a crisis of this duration and so we have been looking at next steps.

We are continuing to support the coach wages whilst they are furloughed to ensure that they are financially secure and still with us when we return. To keep the spirit of the club alive we have relied on volunteers offering ideas on remote training and using social media platforms. Our volunteers have been vital to us during the lockdown. Land training by video can never compare to the real thing though and we know how much our members are missing swimming - both physically and mentally.

Looking ahead to the next stage we are planning how we commence training again. We will need additional funds to manage a safe return to swimming - this will involve maximum pool time to accommodate social distancing measures. Additional pool hire costs put a big pressure on our finances and we hope to use our fundraising to pay for this.

We have swimmers and coaches doing some of their own fundraising which is fantastic and we thank them for their part in helping the club.

What will these funds be used for? 

The money raised will be used to keep our club alive - to help build a club hardship fund to support members going through financial difficulties and to get us back to the pool as much as possible. As a club we want to offer a hardship fund to enable members to retain their membership even if paying full fees is difficult. We know how important swimming and the club is to the town and villages around us. Our younger swimmers in particular are keen to return to the pool and regain some normality to their life.

******Boost your money!******

The good news is that we are hoping to get the support of Sport England. They have teamed up with Crowdfunder and launched a fund to help clubs - they will hopefully contribute up to 50% of our target. We have set a target of raising £3,000 by the end of July which if successful could then be boosted by Sport England to a final total of £6,000!

Many thanks in advance for your support.

All donations will be entered in to a prize draw to win a prize - we are teaming up with local businesses to make sure that this project is an opportunity for them and us!

The prizes on offer include:

Hoorays Ice Cream Parlour We have 4 x £10 vouchers to be won!

Family cinema ticket to Everyman Cinema - a big thank you to Ben Calverley at Contact Electrical for donating this prize (contactelectrical.net)

Shakespeare Distillery tour - a big thank you to them for donating this fantastic prize. One lucky donation will win this prize!

Thanks to Charlie Rawlings at Full Potential Therapy for donating a prize to us for a free online consultation and rehab programme.

A huge thank you to Swim Swift Elite for donating signed Swim hats for our appeal. They are signed by Olympic swimmers Amy Smith and Joe Roebuck.

Thank you to Stratford Leisure Centre for donating two fantastic prizes! Two lucky winners will win 3 month’s free membership @ Everyone Active Leisure Centres. This is a fantastic prize and a great chance to get fit post lockdown!

We will keep you updated with more amazing prizes!

This project successfully funded on 13th July 2020