Dwyfor residents, young and old, are climbing higher after a newly formed outdoor pursuits club harnessed funding from the Sports Council for Wales.

Clwb Antur Dwyfor has been awarded £993 of National Lottery funding, through the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme, to form a new climbing club for both juniors and adults in the area. It is hoped that initial sessions, which will make use of the new climbing wall facility at Canolfan Hamdden Dwyfor, will lead to further interest and enable the club to organise outdoor sessions once membership and volunteer coaching structures are established.

The club is receiving considerable backing from several partners including funding from Communities First (Cyngor Gwynedd) for facility hire and Partneriaeth Awyr Agored for coach education to send two volunteers on climbing courses. The Community Chest funding will provide the club with money to purchase climbing equipment, such as carabinas and harnesses, and also to pay the club’s instructor fees while their own volunteers and members achieve their qualifications.

Clwb Antur Dwyfor Secretary, John G. Owen said, "The funding is for opening up opportunities for young people to get outdoors and enjoy outdoor activities available to them here in North Wales. No other club of this type exists in the Dwyfor area and the outdoor resources in Gwynedd are under-utilised by the local community. A lot of people come from England but local people don’t get out there so much. We want to solve that by raising awareness and getting kids involved in outdoor activities at an early age."

Eventually organisers hope to expand into different activities as well as providing day trips to indoor venues such as the Beacon climbing centre and outdoor climbing opportunities.

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 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."

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.

To remove the obstacles and to get your project going, call your Sports Council for Wales regional office:

North Wales: 0845 045 0908

Or visit www.sports-council-wales.org.uk