Discover a range of indoor sports and activities in Great Yarmouth to keep you active this winter. From martial arts and gymnastics to dance and theatre, explore clubs funded by the Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust and find the perfect way to stay fit and motivated all season.
Discover exciting ways to keep the kids active this October half-term in Great Yarmouth. From beach adventures to heritage sites, explore family-friendly activities that everyone will enjoy!
Learn how the Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust grant supported James Borg, a GB Masters basketball player, in winning Bronze at the 2024 European Championships in Pesaro. Discover the impact of this support on his journey and future goals.
Explore how Sweaty Mamas is empowering mums and building a stronger community in Great Yarmouth through fitness classes, supported by a grant from the Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust.
We’re delighted to announce that the following organisations and people have received grassroots funding to support kit and equipment for their members in 2022:
These local organisations are crucial to providing alternative activities in supporting children and adults in sport and recreation, and in some instances, support work around the safety of vulnerable people. We are keen to support more in 2023.
To apply for funding, please download our form here.
Trustees Albert Jones and Graham Plant present cheque to Retro Skating Academy
Retro Skating Academy is our latest applicant to receive funding for their new venue. Retro Skating Academy will soon provide top GB training with more British Artistic Roller Skating Champions than anywhere else in the country. Their club is also a safe, secure place in the heart of the community for all, and has many skaters who are registered disabled who thrive in an inclusive, encouraging team environment.
GY Sporting Academy CIC, who manages the Academy has used a grant from Sport England towards the total project cost for the conversion and operation of a building. A building has been converted with ample parking for locals and visitors, which can grow the base of skaters to enable them to become a viable not for profit business able to sustain themselves into the future.
Commenting on the funding, Graham Plant, Chairman of Great Yarmouth Sport & Leisure Trust, said "Our purpose is to encourage positive activity in the borough, and for us, Retro Skating Academy has the potential to be a UK leading operation that benefits the community on many levels. We can also see greater benefits for the area and cultural benefits for young and older visitors who would attend galas all year round.”
Emma Parrott, Chairperson, Retro Skating Academy, explained, "Great Yarmouth has some challenging health demographics and we are championing the importance of physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. The SEND community is keen to set up an additional needs Roller Skating club, and we currently have many SEND members who thrive on routine and repetitive training. The events will be the most significant revenue for the Academy, and with GB Skate Artistic already committing to several events per year plus GB squad training, it's a positive and reassuring start for the Academy."
We’re delighted to announce that the following organisations and people have received grassroots funding to support kit and equipment for their members in 2021:
Great Yarmouth Martial Arts
Martham Cricket Club
Sweeney Sports Club
Engage Sports Coaching
Yarmouth United Football Club
Great Yarmouth Children's Theatre
Dragon's Stage and Theatre School
Caister United Football Club
PT Pete
Isabella's Dance and Musical Theatre Company
Broadway Bella's
DPA Dance Academy
Hopton Harriers and
Martham Football Club.
These local organisations are crucial to providing alternative activities in supporting children and adults in sport and recreation, and in some instances, support work around the safety of vulnerable people.
The borough has shown incredible resilience in the past 18 months. We are indebted to the volunteers for their commitment and enthusiasm to pick up and bring the community together and are keen to support more in 2022.
To apply for funding, please download our form here.
Broadland Bella’s performing
We’re delighted to announce we’ve supported Broadway Bella’s, a new theatre school based around singing and dance. In their first week, they attracted over thirty members and a waiting list almost immediately. The group rehearses at Gorleston Pavilion and Scratby Parish Hall.
Broadland Bella’s Founders
The grant will go towards new uniforms and new equipment. Hardware is needed to support the running of classes, and music to be able to provide a smoother and more professional experience to the students. This will also encourage more people to sign up to Broadway Bella’s, as well bring more recognition for the SEN class.
Gabriella Harvey-Mobbs, Co-Founder said: "We’ve been so overwhelmed with the response to Broadway Bella’s, and this funding is going to help us to teach these children to the best of our ability. We’ve funded this company between us from day one. This additional funding from the Trust will allow us to get proper technology such as speakers to allow these children and their parents to have the best experience possible. We already support some children with learning difficulties and this money will make it so much easier for us to buy supplies to make their experience as positive as is possible. Thank you so much!"
You can follow their progress Facebook and Instagram, and we wish them all the best.
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 2021.
DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS, WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.
We are delighted to announce another round of funding awarded pre-lockdown for June 2020. The very talented and dedicated team at East Anglia Gymnastics.
Running since March 2019, they run gymnastics classes for all ages and abilities with a current, 230 members!
The funding provided has contributed towards Acropad air slopes. These help with forward and backwards walkovers, hand springs, flicks, ariels and other acro tricks.
Having this standard of kit helps us attract older children to stay in sport and keep active into adulthood. This will mean the gymnasts can achieve skills they haven’t previously been able to; and all of our club members love using it!
"Our vision is to help children build confidence and achieve things they once didn’t think was possible and with your help we will be one step closer to achieving their goals." ~ Benjamin Walker, Director.
You can follow the team on Facebook and Instagram and we are hoping to see some of those acro tricks in motion soon.
If you are part of an amazing team in our borough and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, we are taking applications for awarding in September 2020.
We’ve been working hard over the past year to reach communities, teams and individuals in the borough of Great Yarmouth, and need your help to reach more. The Trust has granted funds to football clubs, basketball teams, gymnastics clubs, boxing clubs, schools, running groups and carers in the community encouraging the community to get active. The funds are for kit, equipment, marketing costs or maintenance of facilities.
To give an idea of how our funding has helped in our borough, we have collated those who have successfully received grants. We hope you enjoy reading the full stories.
Flegg High Parkrun: We are pleased to announce that we have supported what we hope will be a fabulous venture: the Flegg High parkrun. To set up a parkrun requires funds, so whilst we have provided funding, we would love to help them reach their target with your support.
Spartans Amateur Boxing Club: The grant was used to purchase specialist equipment that allows young boxers to compete to required AIBA equipment standards. These items will allow all their boxers to compete at the highest level and at national boxing events.
"The funding is a fantastic contribution to the club as it will be spent on extra equipment for the ever-growing number of young children joining Spartans ABC."
“The funding bought boxing gloves and head-guards so more members can be involved in boxing shows.”
Yarmouth Football Club: Funding to support a new girls football club will increase opportunities for younger girls to get active in Great Yarmouth. The planned purchase list includes cones, bibs, balls and a new training software called ‘dribble up’, which is a fun and interactive way of developing ball skills.
“Having the money to invest in training facilities allows us to attract more local young people as we can provide high quality football coaching that is engaging and specific to their needs.”
East Norfolk Sixth form Basketball offers great sporting opportunities. Football is a big part of the college, and they are looking to diversify to attract other students into a different sport. The college is trying to grow the Basketball Club, which currently has between 12-15 students who regularly take part in Basketball training sessions at the college.
The grant will be for new branded kit as the team are now playing in regular fixtures, but only have an old very limited basketball kit. The grant will also help to provide the team with new balls for matches and training sessions. This means the small team can grow next year as the new equipment and kit will help to recruit new players from September 2019.
Hopton Primary School PTA: The children were playing football matches in their PE kit, and it was felt that funding for proper kit would encourage those who don't participate in sport to do so outside of school hours. Some families can't commit to rigid training and games being held at the weekends. These children would have the opportunity of belonging to a school team, and the proper kits would help achieve this.
Mr Petersen from the school said: “The 'buzz' around football games is palpable with children so keen to know which number they are going to have and where they are going to play. The children look so smart, and it has made a difference in their confidence and sense of belonging."
Air Training Corps No 221: is a charity connected to the Royal Air Force. The squadron helps young people aged 12-21 to become better leaders, sportspeople and promote a spirit of adventure. The 29 members are mainly from the local area of Great Yarmouth.
"We had an old outdated batch of t-shirts to play sports in. With new sportswear we can encourage more members from the community to join, and it will increase team spirit and motivation."
With new kit, the group will actively push more sporting activities weekly to encourage a healthier lifestyle and promote wellbeing.
Willow Tree Works provides a variety of activities for adults and children with additional needs. The activities include gardening, catering, DIY skills development and fitness and healthy eating programmes. Willow Tree Works is setting up a new fitness class which is open to learners and the wider community. The funds from GYSLT will provide specific fitness equipment for a new fitness session. The learners have access to a developing selection of activities which gives them a sense of purpose, increasing their skills base and allowing them to integrate not only with their peers but also working towards a healthier lifestyle.
Caister Football Club: Received an extra boost to its attempts to improve the playing field with a £500 award from Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust. This award maximised Caister FCs fundraising efforts to purchase their own ground maintenance equipment enabling people of all ages and abilities to participate in football nearer to home.
Shrublands Junior Football Club: Shrublands JFC is a youth football club with 200+ members including one of a few girls’ teams in the area. The club was fundraising for new equipment to maintain the community club for 3-16 year olds. If you look closely, you can see the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust logo on this brilliant team of under 14s at the Shrublands Football Club in Gorleston.
“Fantastic investment into our club meaning we can replace old kit with new, we can't thank you enough” said the club’s spokesperson.
Tai Chi for health NORSUF Running Group: Established in 2016 NORSUF Running Group is a free and friendly welcoming environment for new runners. You do not have to be a runner or achieve any standard to join; everyone takes part their way.
With funding from Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust they were able to train two volunteer Run Leaders allowing them to offer more opportunities to join our group over a wider area around the borough. Those volunteers have now completed their training and are just awaiting their licence from England Athletics before they set up groups in Caister, Bradwell and Gorleston!
Southtown Primary School teaches 220 pupils in Great Yarmouth. We were very happy to support their application for football kit for all ages as it helps children participate far more in competitions and inter-school events.
The school want to increase self-confidence as it gives all children a chance to play. Having a professional looking kit can’t be underestimated for children’s pride and motivation.
Nuno in Year said “We feel proud to represent our school in our new kits. We all looked smart and it made us play better!”
East Norfolk Gymnastics Club: We were thrilled to have been able to push East Norfolk Gymnastics Club up to the funding amount they needed to buy new equipment.
They're a community-based gymnastics club, teaching both boys and girls from the age of 5 up to 18 years old. They have 75 members and a waiting list of over 200. The funding we've contributed to helped to buy a new set of asymmetrical bars. The old bars were over 20 years old and unable to be adjusted which they need to be able to do. The new equipment will help the gymnasts to perform greater skills and linking moves between the bars with greater confidence, which will help them when they compete in competitions.
Revolutionary Roots: A Youth and Community Group working on various projects across the borough of Great Yarmouth. The group applied to the Trust for funds towards sports equipment which will aid holistically against substance abuse, anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.
As well as working with mainstream young people the charity also helps other members of the community by: Working with young people to get involved in sport and physical activity and lessening boredom and anti-social behaviour, instead empowering towards personal development
The charities ethos is about running cost effective sessions across the borough, and the funding has enabled them to offer sessions out to other groups to utilise their equipment with the instructor.
If you are part of an amazing sports team or an individual and would like to apply for up to £500 of funding, then we are taking applications for awarding in May 2020.
221 Air Training Corps in their new kit
221 Air Training Corps is a charity connected to the Royal Air Force. The squadron helps young people aged 12-21 to become better leaders, sportspeople and promote a spirit of adventure. The 29 members are mainly from the local area of Great Yarmouth.
"We had an old outdated batch of t-shirts to play sports in. With the funding from Great Yarmouth Sports and Leisure Trust we will buy new sportswear. This means we can encourage more members from the community to join, and it will increase team spirit and motivation," said Nasreen Arub, Chairperson.
“Now that we all look like a team, we can play like a team”
With new kit, the group will actively push more sporting activities weekly to encourage a healthier lifestyle and promote wellbeing.
Sports England recently reported that nearly 60% of children and young people are not leading active lives - we are keen to encourage any organisation who is working to reverse this figure in the borough of Great Yarmouth.
The corps meets at Cadet Building, Suffolk Road, Gorleston, and for more information, call 01493 655136. You can find them on Facebook here.
If your club or group is in the borough of Great Yarmouth, please enquire about funding for kit, equipment or other costs, we may be able to help.
parkrun is an inclusive event run entirely by volunteers who are all parkrunners themselves. It is not a race and anyone is welcome to come to walk, run, volunteer or spectate. With over 1.7 MILLION runners in the UK, it is a great way to start the weekend.
It is simple to register and all parkruns are free. The organisers are keen to make it accessible to all members of the community including those with disabilities and long term health conditions.
If you live in the borough of Great Yarmouth, your local parkruns are every Saturday at 9am at Gorleston Cliffs and also at Fritton Lake.
Get active! If you haven't registered before, you can register here - see you there!
The FA is considering selling Wembley Stadium to release funds to support community football, which we think is a great idea. But how is your pitch looking? Did you know we can help football teams in the borough of Great Yarmouth with seed funding of up to £500?
There are 21,000 grassroots clubs, 50 county FAs, 25,000 schools and 330 local authorities which are catered for by the FA and, along with the finding that only one in three grassroots pitches are of adequate quality, the FA's written evidence also highlights:
"The word for grassroots football is 'crisis,'" said Kenny Saunders, who runs pressure group Save Grassroots Football. Read more about how the FA support grass roots football here
Charity No. 1114561
