32 Talented Athletes across Hammersmith & Fulham to benefit from £17,800 fund
32 talented young athletes from Hammersmith & Fulham including Janice Monkakana will benefit from a cumulative £17,400 worth of free memberships for sports venues and leisure centres, cash bursaries and other athlete services - thanks to leisure charitable social enterprise social enterprise GLL, which manages centres across London under the ‘Better’ brand in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Athletes will be supported through the GLL Sport Foundation, the largest independent athlete support programme in the UK, which in 2022 marks its 14th year of supporting both emerging and established national sporting talent.
With a staggering 87% of award recipients receiving no other sport funding and 56% of recipients being aged under 21, the GLL Sport Foundation has highlighted a vital funding gap for young talented athletes and the need to tackle inequalities in sport; a significant number of award recipients have confirmed that this funding is essential to their journey and some could not continue without it.
These include those currently competing and National and International levels following a difficult period during the pandemic when competitions were curtailed, individual athlete’s training programmes halted and earnings reduced.
Zack Sarsoza, 18, an Junior International Taekwondo athlete from Hammersmith & Fulham receives GSF Support.
He said on receiving his award:
“I am now part of the GB Taekwondo Development team and go to Manchester training twice a month. The funding will help pay for my travel cost.”
Peter Bundey, GSF Chair, paid tribute to the athletes, programme stakeholders and also highlighted the impact the Foundation is making to reduce inequalities across a wide range of sports.
He said: “These last 2 years since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic have had an unprecedented impact across sport especially with younger emerging talent.
“For young talented athletes, restrictions of their training, travel and competitions appear to have impacted significantly.
“But these awards offer a welcome boost for athletes to continue the richly diverse sports they love and excel in – allowing us to reach deep into communities across the UK to remove barriers to participation."
GSF Patron and former Olympic Champion Sally Gunnell explained the impact of GSF support on the next generation of athletes and the communities they live in: She said: “Sport is such an important part of all our lives and has the power to inspire young people to excel and harness their talent towards their future. From my own experience starting out as a young athlete and progressing through my sport, I understand how important the recognition and support from organisations like the GLL Sport Foundation can be to a young athlete. It can make the difference in achieving sporting ambitions.
This is ever-more important today as we recover from a difficult and challenging year, where dreams have been put on hold and sport had to stop. Athletes can now refocus and start competition and working towards those goals with the support of the GLL Sport Foundation.
This support can positively impact communities by promoting the opportunity that sport can bring and promoting the benefits it brings in well-being from someone within that community.”
While GSF focuses mainly on supporting young and upcoming grassroots athletes in the local community, many have gone on to Olympics and Paralympics success. Award holders past and present have amassed an impressive 77 medals between them – including Tom Daley, Ellie Simmonds, Susie Rogers, Michael McKillop, Dina Asher-Smith and Charlotte Worthington.