Launched in 2010 the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust exists to support aspiring young people in their chosen sport. The charity was formed in memory of Rowan who was a keen and enthusiastic young athlete from Galashiels who sadly passed away at the age of nine in 2010.
Through incredible fundraising support from the Borders community the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust have assisted hundreds of individual athletes across the Scottish Borders and are always looking for new ways to help young people.
Some of those supported by the charity include Paralympic gold medallist Samantha Kinghorn, Olympic swimmer Lucy Hope and 2024 Enduro national champion mountain biker Corey Watson.
In an effort to diversify the support they provide the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust Committee recognised that opportunities to learn a basic life skill of swimming is not always easily accessible or available to young people and so with advice and support from Scottish Borders Council Active Schools team the Committee began to develop an initiative that will allow large numbers of pupils attending primary schools in the TD1 post code area to receive curriculum time swimming lessons from qualified coaches.
The 10-week programme is aimed at children in primary four and five many of whom missed out on learning to swim during the pandemic, when sports facilities including swimming pools across the Borders and beyond were closed for several months.
The sessions funded by the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust and supported by local charity partners Hayward Sanderson Trust and Glenpark Foundation will take place at Galashiels Swimming Pool with children selected to take part by their schools. The funding partnership will also provide swimming suits to any child who needs.
Dave Boland, Chair of Rowan Boland Memorial Trust, said:
“We are delighted to be leading this initiative, which we think will make a real difference for hundreds of children in the TD1 area.
“Not only will it provide a vital life skill, but we hope will see some of the young people take up swimming as a sport to enjoy and excel at”.
“We are delighted and extremely grateful to have support from the Hayward Sanderson Trust and Glenpark Foundation both of whom have committed along with us to fund this programme for three years.
“We would also like to thank Scottish Borders Council and their active school coordinator and Live Borders for their support in delivering the programme and all the participating schools who will assist with transporting the young people to the swimming pool.
“If successful, we hope to introduce this model for other sports to benefit more local children.”
Martin Hunt, Chair of Hayward Sanderson Trust added:
‘‘We are delighted to be able to support this initiative for the next three years.
“We congratulate Rowan Boland Memorial Trust on taking the lead in helping youngsters acquire core swimming skills that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives.
“It is a wonderful example of what local charities and community groups can do in Galashiels.”
Trish Gray of the Glenpark Foundation said:
“We have supported Rowan Boland Memorial Trust with their past projects and are thrilled to be able to provide additional funding for the next three years for this very important initiative.”
Euan Lindores of SBC’s Active Schools team, added:
“It has been fantastic to work with the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust and partner on this new programme which will allow more children to get active.
“The swimming lessons will help the participating children to learn an important skill but also enjoy themselves during the sessions.”
Galashiels Councillor Euan Jardine, SBC Leader, said:
“This is a fantastic partnership project between three charities doing excellent work supporting young sportspeople and clubs in the local area.
“We had a number of Borderers competing for Team GB at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics this summer, and who is to say programmes like this won’t discover the next Lucy Hope in the pool, or Samantha Kinghorn on the track.”
To find out more about the Rowan Boland Memorial Trust, visit www.rowanbolandmemorialtrust.co.uk
