The Sports Council for Wales has rallied behind several new squash clubs for young people in Flintshire, serving up National Lottery funding for coaching and equipment.

A total of £3,000 of Community Chest grant funding has helped to expand three new junior squash clubs in Mold, Holywell and Midtown. Each club will receive exactly £1,000 towards coach education to improve the standard of coaches and players in the club, as well as to attract new junior and adult members to the sport. The clubs offer multiple weekly coaching sessions*, adult pay and play opportunities, club nights and league matches.

Midtown Coaching Officer and Community Coach Activator, Bryn Gittins said,

"The Community Chest funding will help us to make sure that we have the best equipment and that our coaches get the best opportunities. At the Midtown Club, we have made sure that nobody has paid for coaching courses from their own pocket because they are all volunteers and it is hard to find people to do that kind of work. We cover the cost of coach education, through funding, as a way of giving something back to thank them.

"New equipment has been distributed, it is just a case of doing the coaching now and we have got a lot of courses taking place over the next few weeks. It is mainly parents and players who volunteer to take part in the coaching, and all those involved are thoroughly enjoying it."

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling, said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Flintshire. The increase in funding and the greater scope of the scheme will increase its effectiveness.

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people in Flintshire more active, more often."

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales is raising the level of grant. Organisations keen to develop sport and physical activity in Wales can now receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

The scope of the scheme has also been widened. Grants have traditionally been awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies. Now most organisations seeking to develop physical activity and sporting projects will be eligible for an award.

The Community Chest has recently been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might get the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group will encourage more adults to get active.