With Wales competing in the Vitality Netball World Club from 28 July to 6 August, there’s no better time for netball clubs across the nation to think about how they can grow and improve. And why not take inspiration from three netball clubs who have all recently received grants from Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund?
Here’s the reasons why we funded them:
Every Wednesday, Jill Bowers meets up with a group of friends to play in the local netball league. It’s a social team for adults in Haverfordwest and wasn’t formally set up as a club. But when her nieces decided they’d also like to play, Auntie Jill wanted them to play at her club.
To get things off the ground, she applied to Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund to buy equipment. The grant came to almost £3500 and it is also paying for venue hire for the first few weeks. It means that children can try the sport without parents having to find the extra cash. The money is also being invested into coaching, umpiring, safeguarding and first aid courses – all the things you really need when setting up a junior team.
Jill hopes to set up an under 10s and an under 12s side which will start in September. It is now the fifth club in Pembrokeshire and is already helping to reduce the waiting lists at other clubs in the area. You can find out more about the Jets on Facebook and Instagram.
Top Tip: Create more local opportunities for young people wanting to play sport by setting up a new junior section at your club. Get in touch with us and we can help.
The founder of North Wales Dragons Netball will admit that before they applied to Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund, times were tough.
Becky Roberts and assistant coach were attending every single club session as they were the only ones qualified to do so. The price of venue hire meant the Dragons couldn’t fork out to train up other players as coaches.
Until, that is, the club bagged a grant of more than £3000 from Sport Wales which is now being invested into training up more coaches and umpires and putting younger members through leaders training. It has made a world of difference at the club, with more training sessions and membership growing at such a rate, it has now reached capacity.
The club has also served as a safe haven for young girls who have moved to the area from Ukraine.
Their plan is to train new coaches so that they can organise more sessions, grow the club further, nurture the talents of more netballers and continue to encourage women and girls to be active.
You can find out more about the Dragons on Facebook and Instagram.
Top Tip: Upskill your players or volunteers by applying to Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund and let us cover the cost of coach education, umpiring courses and first aid training.
Llewod Llambed – otherwise known as Lampeter Lionesses – may be a small club but it has big ambitions.
The club’s commitment to offering netball using the Welsh language really stood out to Sport Wales in their application to the Be Active Wales Fund. With their funding, the Lionesses are training up their Welsh speaking members to become coaches and umpires. Fantastic!
And now, they are on a mission to reach out to Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian families who have resettled in the area. Already in talks with Ceredigion’s Refugee Resettlement Officer, the club is keen to welcome families who fancy meeting new people and playing netball.
“We want those who are resettled in the area to feel part of our community and have the same opportunities to participate in sport as everyone else. Sport can overcome the barriers of language and culture, and its impact can rebuild, heal, empower and create change,” says Llewod Llambed’s club coach, Alex Fox.
The club received a Sport Wales grant of more than £1800 to invest in equipment, venue hire as well as umpiring and coaching courses. We can’t wait to see how they get on.
You can find out more about the club on its Facebook page.
Sport Wales’ Top Tip: Reach out to communities in your area. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to play sport.
The Be Active Wales Fund is a grant, funded by the National Lottery, helping sports clubs and community organisations across Wales. It offers grants from £300 to £50,000, supporting projects that promote equality, sustainability, and innovation in sport.
If you’ve been inspired, we would love to hear from you. If you want to grow your club and have a good idea for a project, apply to the Be Active Wales Fund.
To date, the Be Active Wales Fund has handed £79,124 to 57 netball projects right across Wales.
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