Moving the goalposts
Released: 1 August 2007
Sports clubs in Wolverhampton have less than two weeks left to bid for grants of up to £5,000 to help them set up sessions in other parts of the city.
The city council is looking to build on its successful programme where sports clubs have spread their knowledge and skills to areas which can lack organised activities.
The Moving The Goalposts scheme ran last year and 14 clubs were awarded grants. The city council has secured more funding this year and is looking for another set of clubs to get involved. The deadline for applications is Friday 10 August.
The money is intended to offset the cost of setting up a ‘satellite operation’, an additional session in a different area of the city to where a club already operates.
Clubs can bid for a grant of between £2,000 and £5,000 to run sessions for up to 35 weeks. The project aims to create thriving sports clubs in new areas which will eventually be able to sustain themselves. The funds could cover costs like facility hire, equipment, coaching fees and coach training.
One of the clubs which is expanding thanks to the scheme is the Central England Wado-Ryu Karate Academy.
The club has been awarded around £5,000 to deliver sessions at St Chad's Community Centre, Penn Fields, starting from September.
The academy currently delivers sessions at Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Sports College, Bushbury, St Andrews Arts and Sports Centre, Whitmore Reans, and Parkfield High School, Bilston.
Young people were given a taste of what the club can offer when chief instructor Stennett Harvey recently led karate sessions during the Multisport summer activity scheme at Aldersley Leisure Village.
Participants, aged eight to 15, got the chance to experience a range of sports throughout the four-day scheme including volleyball, squash, athletics, tag rugby and cricket.
The karate sessions were very popular with everyone taking part and generated lots of interest in the sport, the academy and the sessions it runs across the city.
Stennett said: “The Moving The Goalposts funding will be of great benefit to the young people in the Penn Fields area. The new satellite session is something that may not have been possible had the funding not been available.
“Karate promotes good self esteem, fitness, discipline and an opportunity to show what can be achieved with the right attitude and training. We are looking forward to welcoming more young people to the club in September.”
Anyone interested in registering for the Penn Fields karate lessons can contact Stennett direct on 07958 494602 or by email.
More information and application forms to apply for funding from the Moving The Goalposts scheme are available by contacting Amy Baker, Sports Project Co-ordinator, on 01902 556219 or by email.
Issued by the press office.