BGL Group has supported the City of Peterborough Swimming Club (COPS) with a donation of £1200 which will be used to pay for coaching for the club’s Special Olympics Team.

COPS enables young people with disabilities to do extraordinary things, through the newly formed Special Olympics Group (SOG), and has seen an increase in the number of disabled swimmers attending the club. In order for club members to be fully supported in and out of the pool, additional help is required from specialist coaches. Not only do these coaches improve swimming ability, they also make a major difference to self-esteem and confidence.

COPS is ranked within the top-ten swimming clubs in the UK, and has 180 registered members. The membership includes able-bodied, Paralympic and Special Olympic athletes. The club has competed in many swimming heats at national level and currently has a 14 year old Paralympic swimmer on the ‘Road to Rio’.

Richard Leech, Chairman of COPS, said: “BGL came to our rescue at a time when we needed to fund coaching for our Special Olympic Swimming Group. COPS is a not-for-profit organisation that balances delicate finances to deliver the best we can for all our swimmers. Through BGL’s support, we have been able to continue offering top quality swim coaching to nearly 25 swimmers with learning disabilities, alongside our able-bodied and Paralympic athletes.”

Gary Elliott, Chair of BGL’s Peterborough Corporate Social Responsibility committee, commented: “Our Corporate Social Responsibility programme is an integral part of BGL and that involves supporting charities on an international, national and local scale. Therefore it is great for us to be able to help organisations such as the City of Peterborough Swimming Club which is helping to improve the lives of its members both in and out of the pool.”

BGL’s charitable donation is part of the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, which aims to donate £3 million to good causes by June 2017.