Highly successful volunteer-run swim club in Milton Keynes warns of closure

Wednesday, 4 November 2020 14:30

One of the UK's most successful swim clubs, which is based in Milton Keynes, warns that they may face closure due to the impact of COVID-19.

City of Milton Keynes Swim Club, a not-for-profit organisation, is the leading swim club in North Buckinghamshire and teaches children and young adults of all ages.

It is run entirely by volunteers, but the club employs a small number of coaches to ensure training is carried out safely and to the highest standard.

Over 300 people are part of the club, with members taking part in competitions at county, regional, national and even international championship level.

But despite the club's popularity, they say that they are struggling to stay afloat given their current financial position.

"Safely supporting 300 swimming kids doesn't come cheap," City of Milton Keynes Swim Club said. "We get no large grants of funding from the national bodies, so we have to be self-funding. Our running cost are partly paid for by monthly fees from our members, but also from us hosting our own open competitions which bring in other swimmers (and their entry fees) from outside the club.

"But, as you'd expect, the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected us financially."

The club claims that the first lockdown has left them £20,000 down, and they are concerned that the second lockdown could cause further financial ruin.

They warn that at this rate, the club will cease to exist by summer 2021 so have turned to a GoFundMe page as a last resort.

Nearly £3,000 has been raised out of the £10,000 target by over 50 supporters.

You can find the GoFundMe page here.

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