It was on May 5th 1919 when a group of Swansea business leaders gathered to discuss the idea of a new organisation from America called Rotary.
And now, 100 years on, Swansea Rotary marked the occasion over the Bank Holiday weekend at their annual fundraising boules tournament.
Details of Swansea Rotary’s birth can be found in a book called ‘Growth of a Notion’.
For several years now, Swansea Rotary has organised an annual boules tournament in Swansea Marina where 16 teams compete.
Over 21 years, the May Day Bank Holiday tournament has raised over £50,000 towards each outgoing Swansea Lord Mayor’s charities.
The teams, mainly from local pubs, meet for some friendly rivalry.
Each team dresses up in fancy dress and has to raise a minimum of £150 to enter.
At the weekend, there was live music from local bands to add to the atmosphere, and the event is expected to have raised upwards of £2,500.
Real fun day @rotary_bay #Mumboules competition today with @MumblesCouncil – quarter finals for us was a very good result! Great turnout and a huge amount of money raised for good causes. Well done everyone ❤️🌟 #Mumbles #Gower pic.twitter.com/j15EBrJnJ0
— Tonia Antoniazzi MP (@ToniaAntoniazzi) September 1, 2018
So successful has this become, that a sister event now takes place in September, run jointly with Rotary Mumbles called Mumboules.
Here, a third of the proceeds go to the Lord Mayor’s fund, with the rest going to charities nominated by the two club presidents.
