GLL Supporting Today and Tomorrows Athletes
GLL, charitable social enterprise and the UK’s largest leisure operator is set to support up to 60 local athletes within the Hertfordshire area in 2018 through their athlete support programme, the ‘GLL Sport Foundation’.
The GLL Sport Foundation is an athlete focussed support programme providing athletes across the UK with tangible support to aid their sports performance - support includes training membership access to over three hundred venues across the UK, access to physio and injury rehab support and financial awards up to the value of £1,250.
Applications for athletes are open until 20th February 2018 via the website portal – www.gllsportfoundation.org
Across the UK it is projected three thousand athletes will be supported in 2018; it will mark a special milestone for the UK’s largest independent athlete support programme as the programme turns ten years, over which period it will have provided sixteen thousand athlete awards at a value of £9million.
2017 saw 54 athletes based at Gosling Sports Park receive awards and support through the GLL Sports Foundation.
Supported athlete Edward Corrie, professional Tennis player, states “with my long-term vision in mind, my goals for 2017 are to establish myself in the top 200 in the world, playing a full schedule of challengers and some ATP events, compete in the qualifying at all four grand slams and qualify for my first grand slam main draw. Being awarded this support provides me with the world class facilities that I need to train in, and some financial support towards the necessary costs of competing at an international level.”
Since the programme was launched in 2008 at the House of Commons the programme has been under the Patronage of one of GBs greatest athletes Sally Gunnell OBE, who today still remains the only athlete to hold consecutive Olympic, World and Commonwealth titles. Sally explained “When I was first introduced to the GLL Sport Foundation in 2007 and the opportunity to come on board as Patron was offered to me it was a simple yes as achieving peak sport performance as an athlete and inspiring and supporting athletes to achieve their goals have been key drivers for me through my life; so there was an obvious direct synergy”.
Peter Bundey, Chair of the Foundation, further highlighted the network the programme works within “I would like to thank all councils; sponsors and partners to the Foundation over the length of the programme, your commitment has contributed to its success greatly. Finally; I would like to thank all the athletes. You have delivered such phenomenal sporting successes and inspired future generations of athletes to achieve their goals and our wider communities to be more physically active. We look forward to supporting you and future generations of athletes for years to come.”