Bradford SAC secure grant boost to get more young people into scuba

Bradford SAC has just scooped a Sports England grant to boost accessibility to scuba in their club.

The Big Lottery ‘Awards for All’ grant scheme is providing £7,820 to Bradford SAC so that they can to ‘improve accessibility to scuba diving’ in their clubhouse.

Bradford will now use the funding to transform the ground floor areas of their clubhouse at Mountain Queensbury, by providing new training rooms, equipment store, improved access, toilets and disabled facilities.

Club chairman Mick Barraclough said he was delighted by the news of the award.

“The increase in our junior membership highlighted the fact that our clubhouse was no longer fit for purpose nor accessible to a large part of the community and unsuitable for some of the activities we wished to undertake, due to health, safety and welfare issues. The Sport England funding will allow us to hold many more events especially for all the younger members of the club.”

When the work is completed the club will be able to provide training to a wider range of both young people and adults and will also be able to allow other community groups to use the building at minimal cost.

Bradford SAC has also been working with Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Sport who provided the club with a grant of £1,200 from the lottery “Sportivate” fund.

The funding will pay for pool fees and equipment hire to give opportunities to 14-25 year-olds, who are not involved in sporting activities, access to six weeks’ scuba and/or snorkelling training. The programme is designed particularly to help young women, who are currently not active in any sport, to try scuba diving.

Following the six- week course it is hoped that the club’s other fund raising events will be able to help finance the participants’ continuation of their sub aqua activities.

Chairman, Mick Barraclough, added: “The Sportivate grant will provide opportunities for young people to try scuba diving. We are hopeful that the funding will allow more socially and economically disadvantaged groups to become involved in the sport.”

For more information on Bradford SAC, click here.