Funds available to support young athletes

If you are a young resident of Tower Hamlets and trying to make your way as a serious athlete, help may be on hand. The GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) – the largest independent athlete support programme in the UK, operated by charitable social enterprise GLL – is inviting applications for funding. GLL has £1 million to spend, and with individual awards up to£1,250, there’s a good chance a serious application will attract some funding to help you meet your dreams.

Just over three quarters of the grants handed out go to athletes under the age of 21. The programme works in partnership with sport national governing bodies through the national charity SportsAid to support the next generation of sporting talent.

In 2014, GSF supported 1,500 athletes, including 96 from Tower Hamlets, who are heading for national and international competitions in a wide range of sports and para-sports. These athletes included 15 year old Amy Marren, a Great Britain swimmer who achieved two gold and four silver medals from the 2014 IPC European Swimming Championships.  “The GLL Sport Foundation support is vital to my continued International success and the support they provide to all athletes is paramount,” said Amy.

Another supported athlete is 18 year old local resident Mercy Brown, Mercy is an England senior International, having competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she narrowly missed out on a bronze medal.  “The GLL Sport Foundation helps me a lot with being a full time student and trying to train as a full time athlete,” she said.

Sally Gunnell OBE, GSF Patron and former concurrent Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles title holder explained what funding can mean to a young athlete. “From my own experience, starting out as a young athlete and progressing through my sport, I understand how important support from the Foundation is to the realisation of sporting ambitions.  Through the programme, we are providing the next generation of athletes with tangible support to make a real difference to their sporting journeys.”

To apply and find out further details of the scheme please go to the GSF website at www.gllsportfoundation.org.  Applications for 2015 awards are open until 20th February 2015.