Emergency grant to help Stourport Hockey Club during lockdown

Stourport Hockey Club says its finances have been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced sporting clubs to stop activities in March.

Club chairman Jonathon Symonds said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic affect on Stourport Hockey Club, as it has with all other sports, all our activities were stopped overnight.

Di Walton, of Stourport Hockey Club. Photo by Sara Jennings

"The absence of the income from match fees and the very popular Easter training camps for our juniors has badly affected our finances."

Now, the club has secured a £6,800 grant from Sport England's Community Emergency Fund to help cover its running costs during the lockdown.

The money will allow Stourport Hockey Club to cover the costs for three months of payments for their membership to Stourport Sports Club.

Jonathon said: "The generous grant from Sport England will enable us to meet our facility fee to Stourport Sports Centre through to the start of the new season in September, when we are hopeful that we will be able to restart some of our activities albeit in a limited fashion and complying with government social distancing guidelines."

Sandra Barlow, of Stourport Hockey Club, in action. Photo by Sara Jennings

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, said: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happens in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future.

"The £20m Community Emergency Fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multimillion pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Stourport Hockey Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.”