Let's Get The Club On Track Campaign
Let's Get The Club On Track Campaign
Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club requires funds to increase the number of lanes on the main athletics track to 8 all the way around, and to build a covered stand, gym and toilet.
About the initiative
Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club’s local initiative aims to upgrade the facilities at Down Grange, on Pack Lane in Basingstoke. We believe that our town, its athletes, coaches and officials deserve the best. At the moment the track needs to be upgraded from six to eight lanes. Currently it only has eight lanes on the finishing straight. Now the Club has to hire other venues to host home fixtures with additional costs. The upgrade of the track would mean that British Athletics League meetings could be staged at home, raising the profile of athletics in the town and the surrounding areas as well as encouraging many more people of all ages to participate in a healthy sport. Additionally the club needs a covered stand to hold approximately two hundred spectators and underneath a gym and toilets.
The cost of these improvements is in the region of £300,000 and is supported by the local council sports development department. 2008 is the club’s Diamond Jubilee and a number of fund-raising events are being arranged to take place throughout the year, culminating in the Diamond Jubilee Corporate Relay.
Efforts to improve the Down Grange athletics facilities have been ongoing since 2006 but there is now a renewed determination to achieve our aims and we are prepared for the hard work necessary in fund-raising. However a substantial award from Norwich Union would be a great help.
What we could do with a bronze award worth £1,000
Whilst any amount of money towards our aim would be welcome, £1,000 would leave us with a considerable amount of money to raise but would be a good start towards our target.
What we could do with a silver award worth £12,500 or even the gold award worth £50,000
Again £12,500 would be welcome, certainly better than £1,000! However for us the Gold Award of £50,000 would allow us to approach the Council for funding and to apply jointly to Sport England for the additional funds, enabling us to upgrade the track, the first part of our project. As John Graves, the chairman of England Athletics said in his article in “Athletics Weekly” (13.12.07) there is a “need to direct more resources at grassroots if it is to achieve its primary object of improving performance in every event and at every level”.
Our final word
2007 has been the most successful year in the club’s sixty year history with the men’s senior team reaching the top 24 teams in the country and the women’s team promoted to division 1 of the Southern League. Let’s reward the club and the many volunteers by giving them the best facilities available.
Get in contact
- Telephone: 01256 420056
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