Assisted funding

UKSA is a Registered Charity and a non-profit making organisation set up to promote water sports activities for young people.

Our Founder, Noel Lister, secured the future of the Academy by purchasing it from the Sports Council in 1987 and placing over £4 million in Trust to fund it into the next millennium. With careful managing, those funds have now more than doubled, to guarantee the future of UKSA.

UKSA prides itself on its equal access and opportunity programme which ensures that everyone, irrespective of their background or ability to pay, can benefit from the Academy's facilities. At theUKSA, through our Bursary scheme, we endeavour to promote water sports to young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity, due to funding difficulties, emotional problems, learning difficulties or physical disabilities. We also aim to enlighten young people who need a new direction in life and to encourage them to channel their energies into a fun, outgoing and physical activity.

Applications for Bursaries should be made by Head Teachers, teachers, social workers or care advisors who know the children well and can vouch for their social circumstances. Applications must be made in the form of a letter, addressed to the Bursary Committee and should include:

In general what we would prefer is to support the odd one or two children in the class/year group who have a great desire to come on a UKSA trip but for reasons of their socio-economic circumstances would not otherwise be able to attend the activity week. In these cases we are doing two things in assisting the young people who lack the funds to attend whilst, at the same time, ensuring that the group can still make the trip in the light of the charging policy which operates in Schools.

Each year most of our Bursary support will be channeled into activity weeks in our low season so as not to occupy too many of our valuable fee-paying beds. We need to fill the fee-paying beds in peak season so as to be able to afford to support the existing Bursary activity. It would, therefore, greatly assist us if you could focus your applications into the following weeks/weekends:

• All of March and April (except Easter Week)
• First two weeks of May
• All of September or October

All applications will be considered carefully. The referrer will be informed in writing as to the outcome of their application. Invoicing will then proceed accordingly. When reviewing the cases the bursary committee & Trustees will consider such factors as:

• Low income families
• Single parent families
• Recent bereavement
• Individual circumstances and other special needs

Please make these clear in your letter.

It is a requirement of the UKSA Bursary scheme that a fresh Bursary Application is made every year. This ensures that new applicants are reviewed alongside established Bursary support and fair allocation of resources can then be achieved. So, even if you have been granted a Bursary before, it is essential that you get your application in.