We are raising funds to replace the income we in 2020/21 to help secure the club's future. Our target is £10,000
we will donate 50% of the over achievement to local charities and use the remaining over achievement to help us purchase
- A app for our learn to swim programme to ensure we can improve our communication with parents of our little acorns on their progress
- New t-shirts for our volunteer - Red Army (Breathable T-shirts)
Wyre Forest Swimming Club has been up and running for 23 years and in 2018 was awarded Wyre Forest District Junior club of the year.
Our clubs strap line of: Be safe, have fun and be fast sets the scene for the wide range of opportunities our club provides to our 200 swimmers:
The Club is proud of our swimmers achievement over the years as we have developed. We like to celebrate achievements whether that be our Olympians or the achievements of our children in their learn to swim sessions. The club strives to add real value to the lives of our swimmers as well a sense of community to everyone involved.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on our club's finances, as we were unable to host our own swimming galas. As per other clubs the funds we raise from our galas are a significant part of our overall income and help us pay for our pool hire and coaching. And the future of galas with current COVID levels remains uncertain, putting our sustainable income at a continuous risk.
We are raising funds to replace this lost income and help secure the future of our club. Our target is to raise 10K which is around half of what we would have raised from our galas in 2019. We have applied for additional match funding from Sport England to contribute to target.
Please help us to reach our target, by either making a donation or buying one of the great rewards we have on offer, many of which are at discounted prices. Many of our rewards relate to swimming, but there are plenty which will interest people who are not involved in swimming.
From little acorns to big healthy trees, our Wyre Forest Family currently consist of 130 families, with a total of 211 swimmers who range from age 7 through to a 18 years old. Members come from across Worcestershire County
We provide structured, coached training sessions to 5 squads which include those just starting swimming training and through to those competing at a national level.The majority of our swimmers compete regularly in local, regional and national galas.
In 2018 we were awarded Wyre Forest District junior club of the year and for good reason as we have raised our profile regionally and nationally over the years with producing no less than two Olympic Swimmers in Amy Smith and Claire Cashmore (Paralympian) and showing promising signs of producing a number more over the years to come.
Our swimmers, led by Head Coach Brian McGuinness and his team, moto of ‘Fear Nothing, Fear No-one’ has driven their commitment to the sport and has led to some significant achievements in the last couple of years including:
This achievement has been reached through the sheer determination and dedication shown by our swimmers. On a weekly bases our competitive squads spending between 5 hours and 15 hours in the pool.
The competitive aspect is important, but we also enable all our swimmers to develop their confidence, independence and self-discipline as well as their swimming skills. We also help swimmers develop a strong team ethic and a love for the sport.
It’s not just the swimmers, we are passionate about supporting and developing our Red Army - 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.
WFSC is more than just a swimming club, it is a family. It grows our little Acorns into big healthy trees…. and we hope to still be here for many more years as an integral part of the local community.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit our club hard, our swimmers were out of the water for about 12 months in 20/21, this took 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.
During the first lockdown our coaches organised zoom catch up sessions and outdoor land training sessions, to maintain engagement with their swimmers. The coaches soon became aware of the impact that closure of the pools was having on our swimmers physical and mental wellbeing. The absence of their favourite sporting activity, together with the inability to meet with their friends from swimming, led to many swimmers experiencing a lack of motivation and a sense of social isolation which was having a negative impact on their mental health.
vital income has been lost as a result of not being able to host our regular 4 Open Meets (galas) since March 2020 and being unable to provide swimming lessons due to all pools being closed.
With the wonderful success of Team GB swimmers at the Tokyo Olympics, it is important to remember that each one of these Olympians started as a child learning to swim at their local swimming pool.
But 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. The past year has been an incredibly difficult time for young people. We believe WFSC has an even more important role to play than ever to provide the best opportunities for the young people in the Wyre Forest area, now and in the future.
What will these funds be used for?
WFSC is pro-actively working to mitigate against the loss of income over the past 18 month and have hosted the first licensed open meet gala in the whole of the West Midlands in September with a further gala is planned for November. These galas provide good competition for the participants as well as each resulting in much needed income.
However we need to still plug the gap the income loss last year has left in our club finances to ensure we can move our club forward in a sustainable way.
We have therefore set our Crowdfunding target at £10,000, which is half the amount we generated from the club’s galas in 2020.
This money is needed to be able to continue to swim safely, be able to continue to afford the hours of training the swimmers need to achieve their potential.
We are a ambitious club and always looking forward, the money received through this campaign will help us in developing our future plans to grow the club. this includes:
Crowdfunder and Sport England have teamed up to make £2.5m of match funding available to help the sport sector through the COVID 19 pandemic crisis, and we applied for match funding through this scheme.
To unlock this pledge from Sport England, we need to initially raise a significant proportion ourselves and get at least 100 unique supporters. if approved, Sport England’s pledge will then be added to our fundraise.
To help us reach our target of £10,000 please share our page with your family and friends via your social media apps and encourage them to support us.
You can make a donation to the fund at the top of the page by selecting the amount you want to donate and clicking on the donate button.
You can also purchase one or more of the rewards that are shown on the right-hand side of the page.
Many rewards have been donated by someone associated with the club, either by offering up their time for free, or by donating an item that someone else may wish to buy at a discounted price. Lots of other rewards have been donated by local businesses who wish to support the club.
Many of the rewards will be of particular interest to swimmers, but we have also included a lot of rewards which will be of more general interest to parents, family and friends. If you would like to buy a reward, please click on the relevant “select reward” button.
This project offers rewards in return for your donation