Club-Wide Campaign Lands Swale Combined AC a New Long Jump Runway

Swale Combined Athletics Club has opened a refurbished long jump runway after a fundraising campaign brought together its athletes, families and local businesses to fund the £14,070 project. Half of the new runway’s cost was covered by match funding from Sport England’s Movement Fund and the National Lottery.

The Kent club, now in its 40th year, delivered the project with Fulston Manor School, which owns the Cromers Corner facility where the club trains. The area had no competition-standard athletics facilities, and the match funding meant that if the club could raise half the money itself, the rest would follow.

“As a growing club, we have a lot of demand from athletes across all age groups, but facilities are always a challenge,” a club spokesperson said. “The funding gave us the opportunity to tackle one of the areas that needed significant investment, rather than simply making short-term repairs.”

The main fundraiser was a Jump the Distance event in March, where 68 athletes jumped a combined 5,217m and raised £773. Local businesses got behind the project too: Oast Osteopathy made a significant donation and has since offered the club ongoing support. A contribution from England Athletics’ Club Improvement Fund then took the campaign to its target.

“The matched-funding element encouraged us to look beyond the club itself and find creative ways to raise the additional money needed, bringing athletes, parents, local businesses and community organisations together behind a shared goal,” the spokesperson added.

The Mayor of Sittingbourne, Cllr Karen Watson, officially opened the runway in May. The club says it gives athletes of all ages a better place to train and compete, and it is the first of several planned improvements at the site.

The runway cost just over £14,000 to build, but the social value to the community over the coming years should be worth far more.

Athletics clubs planning a campaign of their own can find practical advice in England Athletics’ Club Finance and Fundraising guide.