Whoosh for Worcester Swimming Club Covid Appeal

Worcester, England, United Kingdom

£16,675

Successful

214 supporters

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Target reached!

Enhance our bursary scheme to allow more families access to our club Increase train...

Aim

To raise much needed funds to support our club during a period of increased running costs and reduced income whilst keeping fees affordable.

WHO WE ARE ...

Worcester Swimming Club (WSC) is one of the most successful, friendly and inclusive community sports clubs in Worcestershire. Founded in the 1920s we take great pride in promoting the sport of swimming across a range of abilities and ages and encouraging a lifelong love and involvement in the sport.

WHY WE ARE CROWDFUNDING?

We want WSC to be able to continue being part of the local community, to return to swimming safely and to go on growing, developing and supporting not only this generation but future generations of Worcestershire swimmers.

This is why we have signed up to Sport England Match Funding return to play active together ... the great news is that Sport England match funded us for 30% of our target, but we will need to reach our full target. in order to secure this!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

By offering a Prize or Reward that members can purchase
By purchasing a reward, buying a raffle ticket or by making a donation

All the money goes to the club, and if we hit our target it will be matchfunded by Sport England.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE WSC GREEN & BLUE ARMY, AND HELP US TO COME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER.

HERE'S A BIG THANK YOU FROM SOME OF OUR SQUADS AND SWIMMERS - CLICK ON THE LINK :

https://youtu.be/KYCzAZSWi4U

MORE THAN JUST A SWIMMING CLUB ...

As you can imagine swimming is our primary focus, for some this may be just gaining their confidence in the water, others go onto compete in club galas, at County, Regional and National events, and for Olivia Fletcher (Wales), Matt Richards (Wales & GB) and Rebecca Redfern (GB) it is the International stage.

Rebecca represented England at the Paralympics in Rio and won a silver medal and then went on to win gold at the World Championships .The exciting news is that Rebecca has just qualified for the Tokyo Games and we will be cheering her on as she takes part in her second Paralympic Games. There is one thing you can always be sure of; whatever the event, whoever is swimming, our enthusiastic army of supporters will be there with them every step of the way.

We have a fantastic coaching team, led by Head Coach – Mark Stowe and Assistant Head Coach – Jon Fletcher, and a whole host of volunteers of all ages. Our aim is to develop swimmers of all abilities, build their confidence and skills, and support them to achieve their full potential.

We also support a multitude of allied sports, such as water polo, triathlon, pentathlon and competitive lifeguarding. In addition we support our local schools by hosting 3 annual school galas giving local primary, middle and secondary school pupils the opportunity to experience competitive sport. More recently we have been developing links with Open Water swimming - an area we are very excited to develop in the future.

It’s not just the swimmers, we are passionate about supporting and developing our volunteers too, they play such an important part in our club and often stay involved with our club family for many years ... they are vital to our success and we provide financial support to those pursuing coaching and teaching qualifications.

We currently have 388 members from 230 families, of which 279 are swimmers who range from age 7 through to a 62 year old who is part of our very successful masters squad.

WSC is more than just a swimming club, it is a family. It is the Green and Blue Army …. and we hope to still be here for many more years as an integral part of the local community.

COVID-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit our club hard, our swimmers have been out of the water for the majority of the past 12 months, this takes a toll not only on their physical fitness but also on their mental health – swimming is a hugely social event for both the swimmers and their parents.

We rely heavily on our fantastic parent and volunteer network to run the club and would typically run two Open Meets every year to supplement our income, these both had to be cancelled, as did our Club Championships, Club BBQ and Presentations evenings. This loss of income has left a sizeable hole in our finances.

As with so many people over this period, life has been tough, with job uncertainty and health worries. We have supported our swimming families by keeping our costs as reasonable as possible during this time and have provided some bursary funding, in order to support families who are facing difficult financial hardship.

We are keen to get our swimmers back in the water, but we know that this will mean an increase in our operating costs, we will have reduced capacity due to social distancing and less pool time, we have managed to keep our heads above water for the past 12 months but we will not be able to sustain this without support.

We urgently need your support to get us through 2021 and help us head towards 100 years of service to local swimming.

We have tried to keep our spirits high over the course of the three lockdowns, our Club Captains have set virtual challenges, we ran collections for our local foodbank, we have had virtual fitness sessions and zoom sessions with Hannah Miley (British Olympic Swimmer)

It has been fantastic to see the past and present club members support and encourage each other and we strongly believe that with your help, we can make our club community even stronger, and continue to offer opportunities to all our swimmers.

The past year has been an incredibly difficult time for young people. We believe WSC has an even more important role to play than ever. The Club is not just about swimming ... it is about much broader personal development. Through their sport and commitment to the club, our swimmers build resilience, teamwork and perseverance.

Our club is all about perpetuating the ongoing development and love of swimming. It is about longevity and lifelong involvement in the sport. It is about inclusiveness and community, about making those links with our wider community in order to encourage more young people to investigate what the sport can offer. It is about coaching and teaching others and allowing everyone to feel valued and a part of this fantastic club.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SEE BECKY WITH THE RESULTS OF THE BIG SWIM DRAW !!

https://youtu.be/HlK0ljWxdbE

RESULTS OF THE BUMPER EASTER RAFFLE ARE IN !!!!!

Here's Lucy, one of our senior captains to give you the news!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ... we couldn't do this without you

Below are details and links to our corporate contributors, any further donations will be gratefully received throughout the campaign:

Contributors with live rewards -

Piston Gin Website

Worcester Wolves Website

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Website

Swim with Jazz Website

Allens of Kingsbury Website