Bath Building Society has announced a new partnership with the Team Bath youth sports programme, helping to invest in athletes of the future.
Children at a Team Bath Tribe athletics camp | Photo © Team Bath
The support of Bath Building Society, which is marking 120 years of service in 2024, will help around 600 young people from the ages of two to 18 get active in a host of sports every week at the Team Bath Sports Training Village (STV).
Team Bath has nearly 30,000 interactions with children in sport each year, with Team Bath Tribe providing a range of term-time activities including athletics, badminton, football, netball, swimming and trampolining.
Sessions take place after school and on Saturday mornings, while sporting camps during school holidays also prove popular.
Bath Building Society is also supporting Team Bath Futures, the talent development programme which provides bespoke training programmes and support for emerging athletes in a wide range of sports.
Futures is tailored to three different age groups – Next Gen, providing an all-round sporting foundation for children in School Years 5-7; Blue, providing an introduction to strength and conditioning training for School Years 7-9; and Gold, preparing athletes in School Years 10-13 for the transition into adult training and competition.
Bath Building Society has been an overall sponsor of Team Bath, the sporting arm of the University of Bath, since 2022.
The partnership is part of its plans to build stronger links with the community and grow membership of 16 to 35-year-olds, encouraging and helping them to save effectively and to get onto the mortgage ladder.
Richard Ingle, Chief Executive at Bath Building Society, said: “We’re delighted to be able to put our support behind the Team Bath youth programme supporting young, local people who might one day become our local athletes.
“Being able to help make a difference in the community is incredibly rewarding for our team and we love the connections it creates, inspiring the next generation of young athletes through the strong community programme benefiting from the enthusiasm, talent, and training at the Team Bath Sports Training Village.”
Team Bath have been helping children get active through the Tribe programme for the past two decades.
As well as the regular term-time and holiday sessions at the STV, Tribe also delivers outreach sessions in many of the primary and secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset, offering visits and collaborative work with the local School Sports Partnership Team.
Tribe has also hosted and delivered the annual Key Stage One Festival for the past 20 years, two days of multi-sport and creative medal-making sessions at the STV which engages more than 400 children from local primary schools and introduces them to different activities.
More than 2,000 pupils from year groups 1-13 from across the country also enjoy bespoke visits to the STV each year, taking part in multi-skill assessments, fundamental movement skills, sports-specific sessions, career guidance and athlete question and answer sessions.
Jess Clements, Sports Development Manager at the University of Bath, said: “Tribe is all about fostering a love of sport from a young age by making it accessible, fun and inspirational, then helping children progress into competitive sport if they so wish and develop their talent through Futures.
“A huge thank you to Bath Building Society for supporting this goal.”
A new term of after-school and Saturday activities is under way at the STV, with parents able to pay monthly by direct debit.
Half-term holiday camps, running from 28th October to 1st November inclusive, are also now available to book. Visit teambath.com/tribe to see the full timetable and how to book.
Futures has also resumed after the summer break and there is a free taster evening for potential new athletes on Friday 18th October. Further details of what the programme offers and how to get involved can be found at teambath.com/Futures.
