A SWIMMING club has been awarded money to develop its volunteer provision.

Lordsfield Swimming Club, based in Overton, has received £2,500 from the Hampshire Playing Fields Fund.

The swimming club offers outdoor swimming activities to local residents, as well as coaching classes for children and is supported by a team of volunteer staff; the money the club received will go towards developing its volunteer provision.

Tania Bridge, Trustee of Lordsfield Swimming Club, said: “This grant will enable us to run a full programme of sessions in 2022 and train 60 volunteers to support the pool sessions.

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“Utilising volunteers means we can keep our prices low, and this enables local families to have equable access - increasing accessibility for all.

“Open air swimming is an excellent activity for fitness and wellbeing, and we look forward to working with residents to keep the community swimming!”

The money the swimming club received was just one of the grants awarded this month; in total £20,768 was distributed in the form of grants between £500 and £2,500 by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation, the largest grant maker to specialise in awarding grants across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The grants were awarded to support outdoor activity, outdoor spaces and games and sports.

Jacqui Scott, CEO at HIWCF said: “We are delighted to play our part in ensuring sports and organisations involved in sports across Hampshire get the support they need this year.

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“Since the beginning of the Covid crisis, we have all come to appreciate the value of our outdoor spaces and local community recreation areas more than ever, particularly for improving our physical and mental wellbeing.

“Additionally, sport and physical activity can be an important catalyst to ‘levelling the playing field’ for people of all backgrounds and engaging in sports has so much potential for transformation beyond the physical health improvements.

“We are particularly interested in ensuring that this funding benefits people who face disadvantage in their lives – for example people with disabilities of all natures, and those facing mental health issues and social isolation.

“The Hampshire Playing Fields Fund means we can provide organisations like Lordsfield Swimming Club with the means to achieve a better and more sustainable future at the same time as increasing participation by people from a wide range of backgrounds”.

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