A community in Merthyr Tydfil has received a cash boost from the Sports Council for Wales in a bid to cope with the droves of budding boxers wanting to take to the ring.

Dowlais Boxing Club has witnessed a surge in the number of both children and adults wishing to use the facilities and has been awarded with £1000 of National Lottery funding to provide additional equipment to cope with the demand.

Members of the community currently have access to the Dowlais Station Yard three times a week to participate in boxing and general fitness training, the cash injection from the Sports Council for Wales will allow for a further three sessions to added to the schedule.

As well as the purchase of equipment such as gloves, punch bags, head guards and skipping ropes, the funding will also be injected into training up existing coaches and adding to the team.

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 has raised the level of the 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.

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

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Merthyr Tydfil. 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 Merthyr Tydfil more active, more often."

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

South East Wales: 0845 045 0904

South West Wales: 0845 045 0906

North Wales: 0845 045 0908