Youngsters in Porthmadog have been given a foot up in the climbing world thanks to National Lottery funding from the Sports Council for Wales.

Clwb Antur Glaslyn Adventure Club, which operates in Porthmadog and the surrounding area, has secured a £1000 Community Chest grant from the Sports Council for Wales, to develop indoor and outdoor climbing sessions for the local community.

The club provides outdoor activities for local young people, concentrating mainly on canoeing and kayaking but also offers gorge walking, raft building and now climbing. The funding will help to pay for equipment and training for regular climbing excursions to natural and man-made climbing sites across North Wales. Twenty junior members voted climbing their number one ‘must do’ activity given the opportunity.

Clwb Antur Glaslyn Adventure Club Treasurer, Dylan Wyn Hughes explains,

"We have done some climbing sessions before and the kids really enjoyed them. Climbing will be something different to complement the activities we already offer. I think it’s important to give the kids options to keep them interested.

"The Community Chest funding will go towards new equipment, such as a 200 metre static rope and specialist carabinas. We also plan to get people through their SPA awards (The Single Pitch Award is a nationally recognised award that enables holders to supervise novices and others on single pitch crags and climbing walls) to increase the number of people who can help run sessions."

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.

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 & 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.

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 Gwynedd. 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 Gwynedd more active, more often."