Sport Northern Ireland Project Re-Boot: Activate has provided £5,000 of match funding
Support Larne Swimming Club #TeamLarne
Larne, Mid and East Antrim, United Kingdom
Aim
Help Larne SC to raise much needed funds to support the club recovery from COVID, raise membership and produce more champions of tomorrow.
Who are we?
Larne Swimming Club is a top Irish Swimming Club in East Antrim, comprising of Junior, Age Group, National and Masters squads.
Our club has around 120 members and consistently produce athletes to qualify at regional, national and international level.
The club provides for all abilities from our learn to swim programme right through to Masters Squads. Sessions are now being offered to parents who want to get in the pool, either to train towards Triathlons or just back in the pool for exercise and mental wellbeing.
Larne Swimming club is committed to helping all swimmers to achieve their potential and is supported by a team of coaches, parents and volunteers who are dedicated to the running and existence of the club on a daily basis.
We aspire to challenge the youth of today to be the champions of tomorrow.
Community impact
We want to ensure the future of the club for its members and the wider community. Larne Swimming Club serves a vast area of East Antrim, from Larne to Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey and beyond. The club not only brings children and young people together to train in the sport they love, but it also creates friendships and boosts mental health in a positive way.
Clubs from all over Northern Ireland travel to Larne for galas and various competitions such as the Antrim Championship (sponsored by Woodside Haulage) which brings additional footfall into the community of East Antrim.
Please support our club and your community.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Larne Swimming Club like all other indoor sports, has been closed for very long periods of time throughout 2020 and 2021due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club had very healthy numbers prior to COVID however, the pandemic has meant that our members moved on to other sports and interests and did not return.
When lockdown was lifted in September of 2021, membership numbers for the club dropped by a huge 40%. As well as the increase in running costs, pool hire and loss of almost half of its membership, this has had a huge negative financial implication. Coupled with the potential loss of the club's 'Learn to swim' programme to a council run alternative, has brought the ongoing future viability of the club into doubt. With the imposed changes and issues brought about by the pandemic it is clear the club will become unsustainable without community help.
An active recovery from COVID for Larne Swimming Club is crucial. In order to continue as a successful amateur sports club that is known not only for its successful Hall of Fame but also for the team spirit that lives within each and every member, staff and volunteer alike......#teamlarne
How we’ll spend the money raised
With the money we raise through Crowd Funder we plan to:
- Promote the sport and the club
- Increase capacity for junior members
- Train senior swimmers at level 1 - teaching programme
- Sustain the levels of pool time already available
- Potentially increase pool time / training time
- Create further opportunities for club members through competitions
- Create further opportunities for club members through enhanced training and development programmes
- Upskill existing coaches
- Provide top class coaching from Olympian Danielle Hill
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
- By obtaining sponsorship for our 100 miles a day challenge.
- By offering a reward or prize that can then be purchased on this site. Please contact [email protected]
- By considering business sponsorship – by becoming one of our corporate sponsors your company can enjoy multiple advertising opportunities throughout the club. In addition, it is an opportunity to link your brand to a healthy lifestyle organisation in the local community. Please contact [email protected]
- By joining our swimming club - we’d love you to join our club! Larne Swimming Club welcomes new members of all ages and ability. Please contact us ([email protected]) for lesson availability or a free trial squad session.
- All the money raised goes to the club, and if we hit our target, 50% will be match-funded by SportNI.
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!
This project successfully funded on 30th August 2022