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Sports Aid, the charity
for young sports people, is looking to award funding for over
100 judo players.
Since 1997, Sports Aid
has focused on giving awards to youngsters aged 12 to 18,
from 50 able-bodied and 25 disability sports. These athletes compete
in national squads and these awards, generally worth £500, help
with costs such as travel, training, accommodation, competition
fees and equipment.
The Olympic sport of Judo
receives more money than any other sport and maintains a high
uptake of grant applications from promising young players.
British Judo’s England
Squad co-ordinator, Trevor Sitlinton, said: “All kids apply and
those accepted will be put forward by Sport Aid for funding from
their partners.”
The charity pinpoints funding
opportunities through its array of national and regional partners
and then puts forward a young athlete for financial support. Sports
Aid’s most prominent partners include Lloyds TSB, ASDA, Eversheds
and betfair.
Andy Bond, CEO and President
of ASDA said: “Sport has always been integral to my life and it
gives me a sense of tremendous pride that ASDA is now helping
to provide a wealth of sporting activities for kids in the community
at no extra cost to mum.”
Tim Lawler, Chief Executive
of SportsAid believes the funding is a huge boost to British sport.
“There is a real need to
support our future medal hopefuls from an early age,” he said.
“More investment is essential
to ensure we continue to help talented young athletes who can
represent Great Britain in the future. The commitment of ASDA
and Lloyds TSB is a fantastic boost to British sport.”
The scheme has played an
integral role in the development and retention of promising young
players, which Trevor Sitlinton is keenly aware of.
“It’s a really tremendous
scheme. Sport Aid has been a great supporter to our programmers
for many years,” said Trevor.
“Sports Aid Awards Manager,
Emmanuel Blanchard, has been a great advocate for us and the charity’s
support has been invaluable to our next generation of players.”
“In my day I received £80,
we’ve come a long way since then, especially as it now costs between
three and five thousand pounds to fund a player for a year.”
Since 1976, Sports Aid
has distributed around £20 million and now gives 2,000 awards
per year.
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