**Leander Amateur Swimming Club** _**Trustee Annual Report 2022-2023**_ 

Charity Registration Number: 102327 




## Contents 

**Organisation Overview and Purpose ....................................................................... 3 Leander ASC Activities 2022-2023 ........................................................................... 4 Financial Commentary............................................................................................... 5 Declaration .................................................................................................................. 5** 

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## **Organisation Overview and Purpose** 

Leander Amateur Swimming Club (ASC) is a charity registered with the Charities Commission in Northern Ireland. The Club is affiliated to the regional and national governing bodies Swim Ulster and Swim Ireland and is led by a voluntary committee (the Trustees). Having formed in 1964, Leander ASC has a strong history in developing top level competition swimmers and providing a great environment for swimmers to progress at all levels from Fundamentals through to Masters. 

In setting our objectives and planning our activity for the year the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit. This is to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to our beneficiaries namely the members of Leander ASC, the majority of which are people living in the Greater Belfast area. 

Leander ASC’s vision is ‘to develop people so that they can enjoy swimming competently and achieve their potential as club members, coaches and competitors’. 

## Club Objectives: 

- to promote swimming in the community and coach people to swim competently. 

- to support all members to achieve their goals and potential within aquatic sport. 

- to develop and encourage physical and mental health, self-esteem, confidence and camaraderie through club activities. 

- to provide a safe and positive environment for members by safeguarding the reputation and sustainability of the Club through the implementation of appropriate and proportionate governance and management standards. 

- to promote the work of the Club, both internally and externally through a range of communication channels. 

The trustees are appointed on an annual basis at the Annual General Meeting. 

|**Trustees 2022-2023**|**Trustees 2022-2023**|
|---|---|
|Paula Cunningham|Mark Harvey|
|Helen Lunny|Ramune Farnan (stood down May 2023)|
|Gary Johnstone|Joanne Burns (stood down June 2023)|
|Kathryn Wylie|Jillian Newberry (stood down June 2023)|
|Frank Stevens||
|Briege Johnstone||
|Claire Savage||



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## **Leander ASC Activities 2022-2023** 

Leander ASC enjoyed a successful  2022-2023 season, maintaining the high level of membership which had resulted from significant growth the previous year. Our Coaching Team delivered high quality training and lessons throughout the year, operating across 5 pools, seven days a week and often multiple times a day. Membership levels within each of the groups remained consistent, with individuals successfully progressing through the pathway to achieve their goals. 


Leander ASC continued to deliver effectively to the community throughout the year, demonstrated in the daily activities and the many achievements of the club during the season. Highlights of the year included: 

- Increased delivery of Learn to Swim lessons, teaching the life skill of swimming to beginners. 

- Active club participation and strong performance in the regional Aquasprints and Provincial Town Leagues, increasing swimmers’ skills, confidence, and teambuilding, which is particularly important for younger swimmers entering competition. 

- Participation and success for individual swimmers at regional and national competitions with medals, titles and records achieved throughout the year, including at the Ulster Short Course and Long Course Championships, and the Celtic Masters. 

- 7 club swimmers were awarded GLL and Belfast City Council sponsorship recognising them as ‘talented athletes’ and supporting their sporting journeys. 

- • Club swimmer Oliver Duffield represented Northern Ireland at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Triathlon and club swimmer Emma Henderson represented the GBR team in the European Lifesaving Championships. 

- Club volunteers (young people and parents) continued to uptake and complete coaching/teaching qualifications supported financially by the club in 

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recognition of their volunteering and commitment to developing others in the sport. 

- Volunteering further valued with longstanding club volunteer Frank Stevens awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to the sport of swimming over many decades. Committee Members Helen Lunny and Paula Cunningham were jointly awarded Volunteer of the Year (Ulster) by Swim Ireland. 

## **Financial Commentary** 

The Club accounts and Independent Examiner’s Report are submitted alongside this report. 

Expenditure figures remained at a comparative level to the previous year, with the income increased. The increase in income however was only possible through the success of the ‘One Team - Past, Present, Future’  - a crowdfunding drive that was completed toward the end of the season and supported by Sport NI. The club was also successful during the reporting period to secure grants including from Belfast City Council ‘Support for Sport’ and sponsorship from various local businesses. 

The income obtained from fundraising and grants were set against specified and agreed expenditures, such as volunteer development and a bursary available to swimmers who may need financial support. We were also pleased to be able maintain member fees at the same level going into 2023/2024, despite increased pool hire costs in Spring 2023 and expected increases during the following season. 

Operating reserves continued to be maintained in line with best practice. 

## **Declaration** 

In preparing this report the Trustees of Leander ASC have had due regard for the guidance on public benefit from the Northern Ireland Charity Commission and other documentation produced by the Commission and are of the view that the Club is operating in full compliance with its duties as a charity. 

Signed on behalf of the Trustees: 


**Paula Cunningham** Leander ASC Chairperson 

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