Sheffield Diving Club ‘over the moon’ to win £5,000 in #ClubsInCrisis competition

Delighted City of Sheffield Diving Club officials say they are ‘over the moon’ after winning £5,000 in a national competition aimed at helping grassroots sports.

Charity Made By Sport launched its #ClubsInCrisis competition last November after publishing new research which showed 40 per cent of grassroots sports clubs were either in deficit or just breaking even before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Entrants were required o record a video explaining the impacts the pandemic has had on their club – and City of Sheffield Diving Club were named as one of three winners across the country, alongside Disability Sports Coach and Wimborne Amateur Boxing Club.

Nikki Smith, diving manager at City of Sheffield Diving Club, said: “We are over the moon to be one of the winners of the made by sport #ClubsInCrisis competition.

“The prize money means we can purchase much-needed equipment, support members experiencing financial hardship, and continue to run our free diving lesson scheme across the city.

“After having just over a month’s worth of training in total in the last eight months due to the closure of our pool and lockdowns, this is a much-needed boost for the club and our members.”

The research carried out by Newton on behalf of Made in Sport also revealed that many clubs and organisations were operating on less than £10k per annum, 50 per cent were led by volunteers and up to 25 per cent of community clubs may not be able to reopen.

Clubs play a pivotal role

Justin King, chair of Made By Sport, said: “We’re delighted to be presenting the winners of the #ClubsInCrisis competition with our support packages as they will have a positive impact on the lives of the young people involved who love these clubs so much.

“Throughout this competition, we were in awe of the many brilliant clubs across the country who have put their heart and soul into surviving this pandemic despite receiving little or no support from local and national government.

“We know these clubs play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of young people and that is why we were absolutely thrilled to support Disability Sports Coach, Sheffield Diving Club and Wimborne Amateur Boxing Club, who are all deserving winners and truly showed how the power of sport can change lives.”