WSEH Athletic Club - Post COVID regeneration

Aim

The upgrade and replacement of facilities in order to retain England Athletic Track Mark Certification, essential for training & competition

A TESTIMONIAL FROM SIR MO FARAH.....

“I am known for the success that I have achieved on the track, but my journey to the top was a long one and one that had lots of steps along the way.  One of those steps was with Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow and I am lucky that I was able to continue my progress with them.

The club is now in need of funding to help maintain and improve their facilities which will allow them to continue to provide for the next generation of athletes.  We want our young people to have every opportunity to succeed and so I would ask you to support them if you are able to. Thank you.”

 Sir Mo Farah

WSEH AC is over a century old and is one of the UK’s most successful and highly regarded amateur athletic clubs. It is renowned for its success at all levels of the athletic spectrum. 

At its base at TVAC, Eton the club strives to make the sport accessible to everyone in its catchment area through school & community projects, whilst providing quality coaching to developing track & field athletes.

It prides itself on:

• The provision of the full range of grassroots amateur athletics coaching and competition, to facilitate the development of youngsters from their beginnings in the sport to their full potential. 
• The development and support of athletes up to and including international level.
• The provision of a safe environment for young people which promotes the development of positive knowledge, skills and attitude.      

The club has a history of producing international athletes and this year celebrated the qualification of four athletes for the Tokyo Olympics:

• Taylor Campbell in Hammer
• Morgan Lake in High Jump. 
• Jessie Knight in 400 metre Hurdles (pictured below)
• Daniel Pembroke in Paralympics Javelin – Gold Medallist

Why a fund for equipment items?

England Athletic (EA) Track Mark Certification ensures the standard of facilities used for athletics is maintained at a level to meet Health & Safety standards. The cost of maintenance/replacement of facilities to retain this accreditation is substantial. 

The upgrade & replacement of facilities is necessary in order to continue to offer the spectrum of services mentioned above and to be able to hold competitions at the centre. Competitions that are essential income providers for WSEH AC. 

Unfortunately the usual funding for upgrades has been severely impacted by the effects of the Covid pandemic. The result is that some necessary improvements, to retain England Athletics Track Mark Certificate, are beyond the depleted resources.

Thames Valley Athletic Centre (TVAC) ran at a loss during the lockdowns and the slow lift of restrictions that followed. Local government suffered the excessive costs of managing the pandemic. The result is an unavoidable shortfall in available funds. 

The success of our project would, in this one-off time of difficulty, facilitate the upgrades required to future proof our athletics club, in partnership with TVAC. 

THE BENEFITS.....

• Improved facilities that meet England Athletics safety requirements for athletics training and competition. 
• Enablement of ongoing provision of athletics to WSEH athletic club members and the wider community.
• The ability to hold regular athletic matches at TVAC in 2022 and beyond. 
• The ability to attract a higher level of athletic competition to TVAC in 2022 and beyond, thus generating income.

Attracting competition to TVAC brings considerable advantages and generates essential revenue. It also brings WSEH AC a level of kudos which attracts new and retains existing talent, thus maintaining & improving on its historic success.

HOW WE AIM TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL

To date, we have raised funds through donations from WSEH Committee, ongoing club fund raising projects, a successful Grant application to England Athletics and a donation from DEL, the TVAC management contractor.

We are asking you, the athletes, TVAC customers and any interested parties to help us raise the balance of funds required to support the following projects.

THE FINANCE DETAILS

We are looking for funding towards: 

• Pole Vault Bed                                                                            £ 15,000
• Upgrade of throwing cage                                                        £ 21,000
• High Jump Bed                                                                          £   5,000
• 2 x Racks of competition starting blocks                                 £   5,000

Total                                                                                                 £46,000         

HOW MUCH WE HAVE RAISED SO FAR

The money we have raised so far, including the England Athletics Grant, comes to £26,000.  The outstanding balance is currently £20,000.  We continue with fundraising projects & activities. 

REWARDS

This project will benefit WSEH members, all users of TVAC and the wider community that both the centre and the Athletic Club serve.  

We will spend every penny raised on improving the facilities & equipment mentioned.  Any excess funds raised will be ploughed into further improvement projects that are, by necessity, in the pipeline. 

We are determined to make this project successful so that the Athletic Club and TVAC can continue to offer and expand on the fitness and training opportunities they offer to their members and the community at large.

Thank you so much for supporting the WSEH AC project – we are so grateful!

This project successfully funded on 17th November 2021