Press Release: Coventry and Warwickshire’s talented athletes rewarded

 Coventry and Warwickshire’s talented young athletes have been given valuable backing as they aspire to achieve their sporting ambitions.A group of 25 young sports stars from across Coventry and Warwickshire have been awarded a total of £13,000 to help them achieve their sporting ambitions.The bursaries were awarded during a special event at Coventry University’s Westwood Heath Sports Pavilion in Coventry.CAP, now in its fourth year, is a bursary scheme co-ordinated by CSW Sport which provides support to talented athletes from across the sub-region. The bursaries are funded by Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council and are supported by the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership for the 2012 Games and Coventry University.The funding is used by athletes to assist their development by covering some of the costs associated with their sports including coaching, equipment, travel and competition entry fees.The athletes were presented with their awards by Leamington’s 100m hurdler and London 2012 hopeful Sara McGreavy, Carolyn Robbins and Mark Gore from Warwickshire County Council and Councillor John Mutton, leader of Coventry City Council.Among those recognised during the presentations were Coventry triathlete Sian Rainsley, Stratford rower Camilla Hadland, Warwick fencer Ellie Cormack, Rugby golfer Lauren Taylor and Nuneaton judo expert Kyle Sweet.Another winner was rhythmic gymnast Rachel Smith, 18, who attends Caludon Castle School and has aspirations of competing at London 2012.“The help this bursary is going to give me in terms of paying for training and travel costs is incredible,” she said.“I’m moving to Bath soon to train full time with the Great Britain squad and this bursary will help me to pay for rent, training costs and travelling internationally for competitions.“We have the test event next January to see if we qualify for the London 2012 Games and we have competitions up until then.“It is a lot of hard work and that is why we have started to train full time together now and we will try our best and train hard to get to the Olympics.”The scheme forms part of a local London 2012 project, Team Coventry and Warwickshire, which aims to offer provision and support for young talented athletes to reach their full sporting potential.Will Bastin, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership assistant for the 2012 Games, said: “Training and competing at a high standard can be very costly for young athletes and their families but schemes like this provide valuable monetary and development support to help youngsters reach the next level of their sporting career.“For many of these athletes, London 2012 will be a huge inspiration for them in focusing on the challenges that lay ahead of them to reach Commonwealth, World and Olympic championships in the future.“The CAP bursary scheme underlines our partners’ commitment to helping the next generation of talented athletes achieve their goals and continue the region’s proud sporting heritage.”Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, lead member for children's services, said: “I would like to send my congratulations to all the athletes involved in the scheme and my thanks to the parents and carers who support them in so many ways.“I am delighted the County Council is able to make a small contribution to support these outstanding young people.”Roland Harrison, sports development manager for Coventry City Council, said: “The CAP bursary programme aims to support athletes in Coventry and Warwickshire to achieve their sporting ambitions. “As an athlete progresses in their sport, the cost of training and competing can dramatically increase and make it more difficult for them to succeed at the next level.“This bursary programme with the support of all the partners aims to support the athletes through this period in their sporting career.“We wish to congratulate the successful athletes in receiving their award. We know that these athletes will inspire new and upcoming athletes and we hope that they continue to progress and compete at the highest level of competition.”ENDS

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