Building on the success of last year, their swimmers have continued to smash personal records – and as the deadlines for entries to county and regional championships draw closer, they look to have an unprecedented number of qualifying swimmers aged from 11 to 24.
The inclusive and nurturing nature of the club ensures every individual success is celebrated.
However, for Bronwen Price, this year’s achievement was particularly special.
At 15 years old, competing in the summer National Championships in Sheffield, she became 50-metre fly national champion with the amazing time of 28.97.
It was an incredible result for Bronwen – and a testament to the dedication of the coaching team.
But the success doesn’t stop there. This year the club have once again had three boys selected for the Surrey county development camp 2022-2023, which will probably mean a few more trips up the M1 to Sheffield to the national championships in the future!
And it was not only individuals who have been recognised for their achievements – FSC were a finalist in the Club of the Year category at the Swim England National Awards held in Birmingham in November.
It takes a huge amount of time and effort to run such a successful club.
FSC are lucky to have such wonderful volunteer support, from team managers and officials at events to the FSC committee – all parents volunteering their time for free to ensure the club go from strength to strength as the swimmers continue to perform at an exceptionally high standard.
However, swimming is no exception when it comes to price increases and financial pinches.
Pool-hire costs are rising, the cost-of-living crisis impacts coaches’ salaries and while FSC are doing everything they can to resist hikes in membership fees, it looks likely these price rises will have to be passed on to parents which translates into a real risk to children missing out on opportunities.
A big source of revenue for many clubs is holding external swim meets. However, currently Farnham are unable to host events because of their lack of technical equipment.
This prompted them to launch a fundraising campaign in the autumn.
Upgrading the technical infrastructure, such as the timing system, will put FSC on a par with other local clubs and will allow them to run external events and drive much-needed revenue into the club. But this equipment isn’t cheap – the club are looking for a total of £10,000 and they need the help of the community to achieve their goal.
A club spokesman said: “We are offering a range of sponsorship packages from £250 a year up to the diamond main sponsor package, giving backers the ultimate opportunity to brand our club’s annual club championships along with a wide range of other benefits.
“All the packages offer generous promotion of businesses through club communications and events.
“If you are looking for ways to promote your business and support an amazing local sports club, look no further.”
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, email FSC chair Fiona Lee at [email protected]
Kathryn Virji