Free training on identifying trees this Summer

Next time you’re out walking, wouldn’t you like to know about the different trees around you? Learning to identify broadleaf trees can not only help you connect with nature, but can also lead to an interesting career.

Working together with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Trees for Cities, the Field Studies Council are excited to offer free training to residents living in the Great Yarmouth area, particularly young people who would like to know more about their local environment.

The training includes how to identify a range of broadleaf trees and will also offer insights into careers working with trees.

The training is perfect for young people with an interest in identifying, planting, protecting and caring for urban trees, who are looking to volunteer, learn or work in this sector.

The course will be delivered either as a one-day face-to-face course on 13th August or online starting 8th August. The 4-week online course includes self-led online study, activities, assignments and live Zoom sessions, with a time commitment of around 2-3 hours per week. An E-certification will be provided upon completion of the course.

Registrations are now open and will close on the 20th June at 9am. Numbers are limited, so register now!

To register, visit https://www.field-studies-council.org/free-tree-training/

Broadway Bella’s set the barre higher

We’re delighted to announce we’re supporting Broadway Bella’s with funding for a ballet barre and dance equipment.

The musical theatre company’s director, Gabriella Harvey-Mobbs has run Broadway Bella’s for the past 2 years and it was our pleasure to support Gabriella back in November 2020 with new uniforms and equipment to help her with start-up costs. 

Broadway Bella’s has gone from strength to strength and has now secured a studio in Great Yarmouth for their local qualified and experienced tutors to teach their 200+ members, from two years old to adult. Their new studio was previously a spray centre unit and has so far cost Broadway Bella’s £6,000 to renovate. Gabriella is hoping the renovated studio will provide a valuable resource not only for them to develop their classes, but also for fitness classes, such as Pilates and boxercise, so the whole community can be involved.

Gabriella is using the latest funding for dance equipment, such as ribbons and instruments to enhance lessons for their Broadway Baby classes; a speaker system for other classes; heaters for the comfort of their members; and a ballet barre.

The company are constantly expanding and wish to provide high quality, comfortable classes to all their members. They aim to provide the very best experience for their members and to continue to provide affordable classes to the local community. From the amazing feedback they receive, it’s clear their members feel the classes have improved their confidence and helped both their physical and mental health.

“We are so delighted to receive this grant, so kindly given by Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust. Broadway Bella's has grown rapidly in the last 6 months and now have 200 students and are ever growing. The studio allows us to have a home for all of our classes and the funding will be going towards new equipment for our studio. Not only will the base be used for singing and dance, but fitness classes and wellness classes, an amazing hub for the Borough. Thank you so much again.” Gabriella Harvey- Mobbs, Director.

Broadway Bella’s are busy preparing for two shows this year in July and November at St George’s Theatre.

We wish Broadway Bella’s every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Broadway Bella’s, follow them on their website, Facebook and Instagram.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2022.

New kit and equipment for Hemsby Football Club

We’re pleased to announce we’re supporting Hemsby Football Club with funding towards kits and equipment for their two brand new teams.

Hemsby FC have around 50 adult members and 35 youth members and is enthusiastic about continuing to offer football playing opportunities to their members and the wider community. This season sees the club expanding to two new teams, in addition to their adult veteran and youth teams: a second adult veterans team and an under 10s team. The grant will contribute towards two new kits, two first aid kits and training footballs. 

"Hemsby FC are very grateful to Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust for their financial support, which has helped to establish two new teams for the 2021-22 season at opposite ends of the age spectrum. A new Under 10s team was started at the club by two former Hemsby FC adult players, to add to the club’s two other youth teams. Due to the number of Veteran age group players that attended pre-season training, the club took the decision to start a second Veterans team, under the name of Hemsby Veterans Norsemen, to complement the already established Hemsby Veterans Vikings. The financial support provided by GYS&LT contributed towards team kits, first aid kits and training balls for both Under 10 and Vets Norsemen teams, helping Hemsby FC provide football playing opportunities for an increased number of people.” Secretary, Hemsby FC

We wish Hemsby Football Club every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Hemsby FC, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in May 2022.

All female football club benefits from improved pitch facilities

We’re delighted to announce we’re supporting Yarmouth Football Club with funding for equipment to improve the facilities of their current pitch.

Yarmouth Football Club is a female only club for girls and women. The club has four teams: 6+ Skills Club, U11 Girls Team, U14 Girls Team and 16+ Ladies Team. The club is 48 members strong and provides a safe, fund and supportive environment for girls and women and the club’s main objective is to improve the physical, emotional and mental health of girls and women in Great Yarmouth, through playing team sports. Members of the Ladies Team are also offered the opportunity to attend Kickboxing training through one of the club’s sponsors.

The club is a small grassroots non-profit organisation, relying on member fees and sponsorship and any profits are used to improve quality and services provided. The new equipment will include folding sport benches, first aid kits, passing arcs, a rebounder and team shelter; to greatly improve team training sessions, safety and comfort.

The club’s vision for the future is to support girls and women in achieving their potential in both amateur and professional games. Lee Carter, Manager of the U11 Girls Team said “This grant will allow us to purchase additional training and flexibility items which will greatly improve the quality of training. The U11 team will benefit a lot from doing different drills using different training methods and equipment. I believe this way we can get the girls to achieve their potential, having a variety of training exercises to keep things challenging and their minds switched on, which will also help them focus whilst training and in matches.”

We wish Yarmouth Football Club every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on YFC, follow on their website, Facebook and Instagram.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in May 2022.

Mini soccer pitch for local village football club

We’re delighted to support Martham Football Club once more, this time with a mini soccer pitch so they can expand their number of youth teams.

The local village football club offers activities for all ages and for the 2021/22 season, they’re planning on running 11 youth teams and 6 adult teams, including 2 veterans teams and an under 18s team.

 The club applied for funding so the additional costs would not have to be passed on to members or their families. The new mini soccer pitch will enable youth teams to have the flexibility to play when they want and increase the number of participants.

Martham FC Treasurer, David Bradford said “We’re extremely grateful for the support from Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure. The village of Martham is growing and so is our Football Club. We’re so very proud to be able to provide the facilities for our young players. Grants like this help us create new teams from the age of six each year, whilst keeping the playing fees at an affordable level for their parents. These goals will be used to create an extra pitch at the Coronation Ground, which brings our total number of pitches to an impressive seven.”

We wish Martham FC every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

 For the latest news on Martham FC, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in February 2022.

New Crash Mats for Martial Arts Club

We are pleased to announce we’re supporting Great Yarmouth Martial Arts (GYMA) in providing safety equipment for mixed martial arts, judo, and self-defence classes.

New crash mats have been received by the community club, run by Head Coach, Peter Esposito and based at three venues in Great Yarmouth: Century Training Academy, St Paul's Church and St Mary's Church. GYMA is a not-for-profit community club, offering coaching in Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), Wrestling, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The club is dedicated to promoting physical and mental wellbeing to all abilities and ages from 5 years upwards.

Activities on offer can help improve fitness, coordination, and mental stamina; increase flexibility; aid weight loss; promote social skills and help maintain better mental health. The club is keen to encourage new members to join and is proud to be fully inclusive, including supporting women’s empowerment.

We wish GYMA every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on GYMA, follow on Facebook and Instagram

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in February 2022.

Personal Trainer gives back to NHS and carers with free exercise classes

We are delighted to announce we’re supporting PT Pete UK in providing exercise classes for the community and free classes for NHS staff and carers. Owner, Peter Dewer, a personal trainer from Great Yarmouth, sought funding for exercise equipment to help more people in the local community achieve their fitness goals and maintain their physical and mental health.

Pete offers training through exercise; nutrition to help people gain self-confidence and feel better about themselves; opportunities for people to socialise with others in the community; and promotes overall better health physically and mentally. Options include one-to-one training, weekly boot camps, 30-day Fit Camp and a 12-week Booty Builder. Pete is passionate about helping people to be more positive about their physical and mental health “My aim is to help people better themselves, mentally and physically so they can live their lives fitter, healthier and happier.”

As a way to ‘give back’ to members of the community who are NHS staff and carers who have provided so much help and support through the pandemic, Pete is pleased to offer free exercises classes, “This is my way of thanking the NHS and carers.”

PT Pete UK aims to identify and work in partnership with like-minded people in providing affordable workout activities and events to improve communities through healthy living. The organisation recognises that building self-confidence, self-worth and personal resilience is a much-needed resource, and have found that those who struggle with more formal exercise settings, feel encouraged and supported with more accessible workout opportunities.

We wish PT Pete UK every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on PT Pete UK, follow on Facebook, including groups Great Yarmouth Boot Camp, Mums, Tums, Bums and Instagram @ptpeteuk_

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in November 2021.

Local cricket club has new sights set on accreditation

We’re pleased to support Martham Cricket Club, with lightweight and moveable sight screens, to help them improve their facilities.

The small village cricket club has two first teams and a thriving youth set-up for the under 9s, under 11s and under 13s. The club plays an important part in the local community, with training and playing at Martham Playing Field, and sharing its changing rooms with local Martham Football Teams.

The club is working hard to achieve ECB Clubmark accreditation, to show the club is ‘sustainable, well run and provides the right environment for its members.’ It also means the ‘club is recognised as a safe, rewarding and fulfilling place for participants of all ages, as well as assuring parents and carers that they are choosing the right option for their young people.’ The England and Wales Cricket Board

The grant will be used to replace sight screens which were damaged in high winds and, as a condition in achieving ECB Clubmark accreditation, the club is replacing the screens with new moveable and lightweight sight screens.

We wish Martham Cricket Club every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Martham Cricket Club, follow on Facebook and Twitter

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2021.

Sports coaching facility receives funding to help children catch up on lost play

A new sports coaching facility has been set up in response to the number of children in the Great Yarmouth area who have been affected by social isolation and inactivity during the pandemic and we are delighted to support the facility with funding for sports equipment.

Starting this summer, Engage Sports Coaching will offer school sports day camps, evening clubs and interschool competitions to encourage children to be more active and have more interaction with other children. Established by sports coach, Mathew Cooper, Mathew recognises that many children have experienced a change to activities over long periods of lockdown and have missed out on essential play and interaction with other children, which has resulted in them being disengaged and a lot less active. “Many children have lost play due to Covid and here’s our chance to help give them their childhood back. We owe it to the next generation of adults.” 

Mathew is also a PE teacher at a SEN school for children with special educational needs and disabilities and wants to make Engage Sports Coaching as inclusive as possible, with children from both SEN and mainstream schools: “If we can try to bridge the gap between the two, that would be perfect.” 

Mathew hopes that even children who are not so sports-minded at school will enjoy the activities in a different environment and that the interaction with children from different backgrounds and abilities will promote empathy, confidence, teamwork and leadership. “They’re giving us their time and if there’s something they want to learn, we’ll try to make that happen for them. The funding will give us the opportunity to offer a wider variety of sports to engage more children.”

Due to current Covid restrictions, summer holiday sports camps will be available for pupils from Ormesby Junior School and Caister Junior School this year. As the restrictions are lifted, more children from other schools can get involved. Mathew hopes to make the facility accessible to as many children as possible and hopes to offer reduced prices to help more families access the resource.

Mathew said “We want to be more than just a sports club. We want children to have the choice of doing something more constructive [than playing computer games, for example] when they come home from school. We want to engage as many people as we can, challenging children to turn their energy into a sense of leadership and community.”

For the latest news on Engage Sports Coaching, follow on Facebook and Instagram

We wish Engage Sports Coaching every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2021.

Children’s Theatre receives funding to attract new members and offer help for disadvantaged young people

We’re delighted to announce we’re supporting Great Yarmouth Children's Theatre with funding for promotional materials, including t-shirts, flyers, and social media activities to help grow the group following the pandemic.

Established in 2014, the local youth theatre group teaches drama, dance, singing and confidence-building to local young people aged between 6 and 18 years. Based at East Coast College in Great Yarmouth, the group has 30 members and successfully performs around three to four public performances each year, plus events including the Clifftop Gala and Christmas Carol singing.

The children’s theatre group are eager to attract new members, as some older members will be leaving to attend college or university soon; and they understand that many young people may have been isolated during lockdown. They are keen to bring their members back together and encourage new members who are looking forward to start socialising again, being active and enjoy being part of something in their community. They are very aware that many families may have a reduced income due to the pandemic and so are hoping to offer free places or reduced places to young people who have been affected financially by the pandemic.

We wish Great Yarmouth Children’s Theatre every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Great Yarmouth Children’s Theatre, follow on Facebook

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2021.

New Football Club Receives Funding for New Kit

We’re delighted to support Yarmouth United Football Club, with a new full kit to help them get the new football club off the ground.

Yarmouth United FC has over 20 players and plans to encourage more people to be involved, increasing the number of players to include teams in all age groups. The funding will be used to purchase a full kit for their new men’s team, including full goalkeeper kit.

The club has appointed managers Mikey Grayson from Martham FC and Lee Hackleton from Great Yarmouth Town FC and the club has already had magnificent results from friendly games played in April.

Travis Manning, Yarmouth United FC Secretary said “We are absolutely thrilled to be in receipt of a start-up grant from Great Yarmouth Sports & Leisure Trust which has provided us with the opportunity to purchase kit for our new football club. As a new club, this funding means absolutely everything to us as the start-up costs are expensive so this will go a long way and help us by providing a kit for our new men’s team. Thank you so much GYS&L!”

We wish Yarmouth United FC every success for the future and look forward to seeing their progress along the way.

For the latest news on Yarmouth United Football Club, follow on Facebook and Twitter

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2021.

Equipment for new and exciting dance and musical theatre company

We’re delighted to support Isabella Weller with equipment to ensure success in her new start-up: Isabella’s Dance and Musical Theatre Company.

Isabella is a dance/musical theatre teacher based at Gorleston Pavilion Theatre and currently has 65 students with more waiting in the wings to join up. Investing her own funds into her new venture, Isabella needed help with purchasing an iPad for storing choreography videos, music, and admin tasks, so she can continue to teach her online classes and her workshops and group classes which are due to start again in mid-April.

The funding will also be used to purchase dance mats and ribbons for Isabella’s babies’ classes and balance boards and yoga mats for other classes. The current timetable includes Bella’s Ballerinas, and musical theatre classes for babies, juniors, and seniors.

Isabella wants to encourage young people to be interested in the performing arts, including dancing, singing, fitness and performing and her future plans include showcasing the company’s student talent in events such as local fetes, charity events, carnivals and shows.

In receiving the funding, Isabella said “I am extremely grateful to have been given this grant, the money will be going towards a new iPad which will benefit me and the students massively. With starting this business on my own and funding everything myself, the new and up to date iPad will be a very important asset to my business. I cannot wait to open and meet all my new students and get started with rehearsals for upcoming local performances. Thank you very much!!”.

We wish Isabella every success in her new venture and look forward to seeing her progress along the way.

For the latest news on Isabella’s Dance and Musical Theatre Company, follow on Facebook and Instagram.

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in May 2021.

New women’s team at Caister Football Club receives funding for new kit

We’re only too pleased to support Caister Football Club with funding for a new women’s football team kit. With management and players already lined up, the club is establishing a female adult football team and the club want to ensure their team is kitted out ready for next season.

Established over 100 years ago, Caister FC have nine youth teams and three adult teams making them over 300 members strong. The club aims to enable people of all ages, genders, and abilities to participate in grassroots football and offer a facility for the community. The club is so passionate about being involved in the local community, that it helped to provide free meals for vulnerable people at the start of the pandemic. See here for the full story.

In their wish to promote the participation of female players, to increase awareness and to offer more women the opportunity to join a local team, Alan Pearce, Chairman commented “All of us at Caister FC consider that it is crucial to broaden our engagement with the local community. We believe grassroots sport will become ever more important in the future and our ambition is to provide the best environment for the club members. Obtaining this funding from the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust will diversify what we can offer and enhance our sustainability. We are very grateful that they share in our vision for the future of the club."

Watch out for the new women’s kit which we’re excited to report will include Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust branding!

For the latest news on Caister FC, follow on Facebook, Twitter and their website

If you are part of an amazing sport or leisure team and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in May 2021.