How the WSA x Net World Sports competition has supported Maesteg Squash Club and the local community
In April, the Welsh Sports Association (WSA) collaborated with partners Net World Sports to run a competition for sports clubs across Wales.
Clubs affiliated to WSA members had the opportunity to enter the competition and win a share of £2,500 to spend on Net World Sports equipment.
One of six successful clubs in the draw, Maesteg Squash Club received a grant of £500 to spend on Net World Sports products, which have in turn supported the club’s provision to its local community.
The WSA recently went to the club to speak to Head Coach Sally Davis who, with tirelessly energetic, gleefully smiley and brilliantly loud children enjoying a junior session behind her, explained how the club’s competition success has proved “vital”.
“When I applied, I thought ‘well, if you’re not in it, you’re not going to have a chance,” she told us.
After entering, Maesteg Squash Club was confirmed to be the winner of the £500 prize, with four clubs receiving £250 and another earning the top £1,000 prize.
“I was taken back but then I thought ‘okay, I can do this now; I can get that; I can do this for the kids; and I can work on that and it’s going to help them develop.
“We purchased quite a lot of fitness equipment to help the players develop, including things like cones, ladders and poles. The equipment has been vital for their training.”
Maesteg Squash Club, and community sports clubs like it, has an important role to play in the local community.
“We live in a deprived area,” Sally explained, “so getting equipment for all those children has been amazing; it’s been really good.
“We’ve grown and grown, so applying for the competition, winning the money, and being able to purchase this equipment has been crucial. It’s hard to try and find grants and apply because everybody’s doing the same. So, to actually win the equipment was a bonus for us, and it’s helped the children achieve.”
And it was clear that the children engaging with the club were thriving, making it difficult to even hear Sally while she chatted to us!
In the background was a group of children having a blast during a junior session, enjoying activities and skills tests that Sally and her colleague James Jones, a Level 1 Coach on his coach development journey, were delivering.
It was a perfect reminder of the importance of sports clubs, and how much they mean for children across local communities.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to see the kids’ smiles on their faces and coming in every week, absolutely enjoying it,” Sally confirmed. That’s what we’re here as coaches for, to try and make a difference to the kids, and I think we do that.
“And with the equipment as well, it’s made them enjoy it even more, and develop their skills even more.”
Find more information about the WSA’s partnership with Net World Sports, and how members can benefit from discounted rates, here.
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