CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council’s Actif Sport and Leisure service is proud to support its local amateur athletes who represent Wales, through its Gold Card Scheme.
The Gold Card Scheme allows Carmarthenshire residents who represent our country, as unpaid athletes within their chosen sport, to access facilities within Actif’s Leisure Centres, free of charge, to supplement their current training programme.
One such sports club that Actif supports, through its Gold Card Scheme, is Llanelli Athletics Club which boasts a total of 5 Welsh internationals.
Harrison Wheeler has represented Wales in the 400m and x100m relay; Jonathan Williams has run the 400m and relay for Wales as a Master in the 35-40 year age category whilst Lisa Franklin is a Welsh Masters international in the 55-60 age category in Javelin and 4 x 100m relay. Mari Wilson has represented her country in Pentathlon and Darcy Coslett has competed in the 300m for Wales.
Coached by Chris Franklin, these athletes use their Gold Card Membership to train at the Ammanford Athletics Track. The Club also make use of the Llanelli Leisure Centre Swimming pool for cross-training and recovery days, along with the gym as a key training venue.
Welsh international, Lisa Franklin of Llanelli Athletics Club said, “All of our athletes that represent Wales use their Gold Card Membership. Being able to access another track facility, which is available 7 days a week, helps with extra training sessions and is a big benefit for us, especially with fitting in around various competitions.
“Our athletes are so very grateful to Actif Sport and Leisure for their support. The Gold Card is such a valuable asset, not only in providing extra training facilities but also as a financial support and an incentive to continue to train hard and compete at a high level.”
The provision of the Gold Card Scheme to individuals from Carmarthenshire who represent Wales in sport falls within Carmarthenshire County Council’s third well-being objective, which is to enable our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous.
Head of Leisure for Carmarthenshire County Council, Ian Jones said, “We are very proud of our homegrown athletes that go on to represent Wales on the international stage. Carmarthenshire County Council recognises the hours upon hours of commitment, dedication and training that these amateur athletes put into their sport, for no financial gain, and it’s good to see that the support of the Gold Card Scheme is being taken up by our Welsh internationals.”
Visit Actif Sport and Leisure’s website for more information about the Gold Card Scheme.
