When a small, family-friendly water sports club south of Hokitika lost a significant source of income, the future for West Coast kids “learning to sail” was suddenly at risk.

Lake Mahinapua Aquatic Club (LMAC) Secretary Richard Morris, however, recognised the opportunity to apply for short-term financial relief through Sport New Zealand’s Community Resilience Fund.

Meeting the criteria as a club impacted by the Covid-19 lockdown, Morris applied for a grant through Sport Canterbury, as the Regional Sports Trust administers the fund across the Canterbury West Coast region.

“Like many clubs, we continued to have financial commitments (insurance, rent and electricity, for example) that needed to be paid during the Covid-19 lockdown period.

“At the same time, all of our revenue streams were curtailed, as we were not able to offer children’s sailing courses, facility bookings or take on new members. The Sport NZ funding has allowed us to remain financially ‘afloat’ (no excuses for the pun) through the Covid-19 lockdown period, and it greatly improved our cashflow situation.”

Teaching West Coast kids to sail is a focus for LMAC members, whose clubhouse sits on the scenic shores of Lake Mahinapua. The club owns a small fleet of training boats, and courses cater for ages eight to 14, with participants often driving an hour to attend the sessions.

“It says a lot,” says Morris, of the participants coming from as far afield as Greymouth, Ross and Whataroa. “It shows the demand for it.”

The timing of lockdown created a risk for the club that they never could have anticipated.

“It was hitting us at that prime time we normally run those courses. We were told to go home, and we lost our income, but we still had (the costs of) rent and insurance.

“So this (Sport NZ’s Community Resilience Fund) has been a bit of a godsend, really.”

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Article added: Tuesday 16 June 2020