Liverpool ONE announces grassroots winners of Regional sporting grant competition

GRASSROOTS sports clubs and teams across the Region have been awarded special grants to enhance their offerings thanks to a joint campaign from Liverpool ONE and The Guide Liverpool.

Now in its 2nd year, the Sport Grant Programme invited local clubs to apply for funding, with 6 groups each receiving £500 to help with the cost of kit, equipment, and traveling.

The winning teams and sport clubs awarded with grants are:-

• Mersey Rowing Club from Liverpool.
  

• Vortex Cheer from Sefton.
  

• Hurricanes U9s Bleakhill Girls Football Team from St Helens.
  

• Pex Hill Pulse U13s Football Club from Halton.
  

• Victoria Colts Pumas U11s Junior Football Club from the Wirral.
  

• Chester Hockey Club.

Among the winners is Southport based cheerleading squad Vortex Cheer, a club offering cheerleading, gymnastics and dance across Sefton and beyond.

Aime Cruickshank, who runs Vortex Cheer, said:- "This grant will enable us to purchase essential equipment for our new cheer gym, helping us to create a welcoming, inspiring space for every athlete. With this funding, we can truly make the gym our own and provide the best possible environment for our team to grow, achieve and shine."

Also planning to use their grant to invest in new equipment for their teams are Hurricanes U9s Bleakhill Girls Football Team and Mersey Rowing Club.

Victoria Colts Pumas U11s Junior Football Club and St Helens based Hurricanes U9s Bleakhill Girls Football Team plan to purchase new kits for their teams.

Plus, Chester Hockey Club looks forward to using its grant to supercharge outreach for its unique inter club gaming system:- "Animal Magic," which sees primary School age players take part in fun, fast-paced games on Saturday evenings and dedicated high quality coaching on Sundays.

The programme helps children enjoying the thrill of competition, building skills and creating a clear pathway from first touch to elite performance.

Donna Howitt, Place Strategy Director at Liverpool ONE, said:- "Once again, we are so pleased to see the overwhelming response to this grant giveaway having received more than 250 applications from grassroots sports clubs and teams right across the Region. Supporting and nurturing young sporting talent is something we're incredibly passionate about at Liverpool ONE, and we're proud to be able to lend a hand to them developing members' skills. We have received 5 times more application this year and we have heard so many inspirational stories about incredible sporting organisations of all sizes, highlighting just how rich our Region is in talent. A huge congratulations to the 6 chosen teams and thank you to all who entered. It is wonderful to see and support such an array of young talent and future sporting stars right here in our local community."

Jay Hynd, Director and Presenter at The Guide Liverpool, said:- "Following last year's successful launch, we at The Guide Liverpool are delighted to have been able to join forces with Liverpool ONE once again, to recognise and support rising sports stars from across the Region."

For more information about Liverpool ONE, visit:- Liverpool-ONE.Com.

Southport Comedy Festival has 5 sold out shows as organisers answer questions about luxury marquee venue

AUDIENCES flocking to this year's Southport Comedy Festival sponsored by Halliwell Jones Kia are in for a treat with the event taking place inside an impressive luxury marquee with lots of facilities on site.  But if you're thinking of heading to Victoria Park this October, you'd better be quick; FIVE shows have now sold out with others selling out fast.

Both of Chris McCausland's shows have sold out, along with Ardal O'Hanlon, Clinton Baptiste and Jimeoin.

Southport Comedy Festival has a stellar line up of names this year, with other big names on the bill including:- Dr John Cooper Clarke, Mark Steel, Deirdre O'Kane, Omid Djalili, Jason Byrne, Mick Miller and more.

There's an 80's Disco Bingo night for:- Southport Flower Show, a Comedy Bingo night for the Community Link Foundation and the exciting Southport New Comedian of The Year competition, where tickets are just a fiver each.

The event started this:- Friday, 3 October 2025, with:- The Best Of The Fest, starring:- Dan Nightingale, Jenny Collier, Jonny Awsum and host Brendan Riley.

Brendan Riley said:- "Tickets have been selling fast for the past few weeks. We now have 5 sold out shows and others getting close so if there's anyone you're really keen to see please get your tickets booked. Once they're gone they're gone, although we do also have waiting lists available. We are now well established at Victoria Park so most of our audiences know exactly what to expect, and it's fantastic to see so many people coming back to see gigs this year. However, some people who have not been before have been asking us lots of questions; including:- what's it like to see a show in our festival marquee? One person asked 'is it in a tent'? Someone else asked if they came and stood in a field? Someone else asked if we had heating? Or if we had any chairs? If you come and experience a show you won't be disappointed! It's a beautiful venue for stand-up comedy. It's a really warm and cosy environment and makes for a great atmosphere. We'd like to thank Elite Marquees, who do a fantastic job every year providing us with a top class, luxury marquee which is truly impressive. It is fully heated; it is carpeted throughout; we have seating; we have lighting. The marquee is divided so we have a performance area and a bar area with a wide range of drinks available. Come and enjoy some delicious pizza courtesy of the lovely people at Burkes Bistro who will be serving up delicious freshly prepared oven baked pizzas during the pre-show and interval. There will be a fully licensed bar courtesy of Elite Bars with snacks and hot drinks also available. Come down when the doors open and enjoy some pre-show drinks and something to eat. There is free parking at the Eco Centre entrance to Victoria Park, and toilet facilities on site. We have built a fantastic relationship with Alan Adams and his team at Victoria Park, the home of Southport Flower Show. It's a superb event venue. We're very grateful to our headline sponsors, Halliwell Jones Kia in Southport, and to all our other sponsors, all of which are local businesses. Without their continued support, this festival would not be possible. Ticket sales have been incredible. We hosted around 6,000 people at Southport Comedy Festival last year, and we're on track to beat that this year. October is the perfect time to host a 17 day comedy festival for Southport. We're bringing thousands of people into Town, which will provide a welcome boost to local restaurants, bars, guest houses, hotels, taxi firms and others. Southport is an amazing Town with so many great places to visit so we always encourage people who come and see our shows to make the most of their visit and discover what Southport has to offer. Up The Port!"

The 14th annual Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones Kia Southport takes place from:- Friday, 3 October 2025 to Sunday, 19 October 2025.

It's followed by Southport Oktoberfest, which is at Victoria Park on:- 24 October -25 October 2025.

The star studded line up includes:- literary phenomenon and 'Godfather of Punk Poetry' Dr John Cooper Clarke, high energy festival favourite Jason Byrne, universally acclaimed observational joke-master Jimeoin, American comedy legend Rich Hall, multi award winning comedian and broadcaster Mark Steel, internationally acclaimed Irish star Ardal O'Hanlon of Father Ted fame, Persian powerhouse and star of the silver screen Omid Djalili, comedian and Strictly Come Dancing star Chris McCausland, Irish Comedy Queen Deirdre O'Kane, Host of Smash Hit Podcast:- 'Have a Word' Dan Nightingale, comedy circuit favourite Jenny Collier, star of Britain's Got talent Jonny Awsum, hilariously outrageous clairvoyant from Phoenix Nights Clinton Baptiste and UK comedy icon Mick Miller, the beloved:- "bald man with the long hair" and a cherished entertainer for over 40 years.

Visit:- SouthportComedyFestival.Com for full line up, information and direct links to book tickets.

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