Appointment of a Development Officer

Swansea Harriers Athletic Club

Swansea Harriers Athletic Club

We aim to employ a manager to look after the recent and continued growth in our club brought about by the provision of our new Indoor Athletic Centre and Outdoor Athletics Track.

Our initiative

Swansea Harriers Athletic Club has been in existence for 45 years. It is the only athletics club in the City and County of Swansea catering for track and field athletics. We are one of the leading clubs in Wales and the UK, with our senior men’s and women’s teams competing in leagues which cater for the top 24 clubs in the UK. We currently have 450 members, the majority of whom are between the ages of 9 and 18. Our problem is that due to the sudden interest in athletics in our area due to the opening of our new outdoor track and indoor facility we have a waiting list for new members. Apart from 3 coaches who are paid for a total of 5 hours a week between them, we have no paid person; everyone is a volunteer. We need a full-time person to carry on the progress being made. We experienced the benefits of having someone appointed for a nine-month period which ended last August and would like to renew the post if we could obtain funding. The person appointed would be responsible for coaching young athletes, identifying future talent, visiting primary and comprehensive schools to take sessions and also providing them with coaching at the new facilities. No charges for Swansea schools would be made for coaching and the use of the facilities during school time.

What we could do with a bronze award worth £1,000

A £1000 award would enable us to employ someone who could select two schools to visit for coaching sessions for a period of nine months, with schools visiting the athletics centre for some of the sessions. The waiting list to join the club could be reduced by organising an extra session per week.

What we could do with a silver award worth £12,500 or even the gold award worth £50,000

Winning a silver award of £12,500 or a gold award of £50,000 would really give the club what it needs most. A Development Officer or Athletics Co-ordinator could be employed for one year for the money provided with a silver award, whilst we could employ someone for a 4 year period if we won a gold award, bringing enormous benefits.