July 27 2021
SportsAid and the Melton Building Society are excited to be embarking on a new partnership providing talented young athletes in the East Midlands with financial support, recognition and personal development opportunities to help them fulfil their potential. The Melton has committed to supporting four local future Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games stars with SportsAid.
Kelechi Aguocha (Athletics), Amber Haycock (Para Swimming), Xavi Salcedo (Triathlon) and Millie Van Nierop (Netball) are the first beneficiaries of the link-up. Kelechi, 20, Amber, 13, Xavi, 18, and Millie, 18, are among the country’s brightest prospects having been nominated to SportsAid by their sport’s national governing bodies. Each athlete will receive an annual award of £1,000 to contribute towards costs such as travel, accommodation and equipment.
“We are proud to be supporting the next generation of athletes. The past year has been a challenging period for sports people who have had their ability to train and compete massively restricted, so we are delighted that the Society is able to help provide opportunities for local sporting talent to realise their full potential,” said Simon Taylor, Chief Executive, the Melton Building Society.
“The Society is committed to investing in our communities and supporting grassroots sports for young people,” continued Simon. “By partnering with SportsAid we hope to engage with our young members to inspire them to get involved with the excitement of watching and playing sport.”
SportsAid, which was founded in 1976, supports more than 1,000 young athletes – generally from ages 12 to 18. The charity helps the next generation of British sports stars at the start of their careers – when most of them rely on parents for funding due to having no other sources of income. Over the last 45 years, more than £50 million in awards has been distributed by SportsAid.
The charity’s impressive track record was particularly highlighted at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games where SportsAid alumni managed to return a stunning haul of 150 medals collectively across the two Games. This included 46 of Team GB’s 67 medals (20 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze) and 104 of Paralympics GB’s 147 medals (44 gold, 28 silver and 32 bronze).
SportsAid’s extensive alumni stretches across the generations with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Mo Farah, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Katherine Grainger and Daley Thompson CBE all stand-out names. More recently, Laura Kenny CBE, Ellie Simmonds OBE, Adam Peaty MBE and Dina Asher-Smith all received awards in the last 15 years.
“The last 16 months have brought changes none of us could have anticipated,” said Tim Lawler – SportsAid’s Chief Executive. “Our familiar routines disrupted and in some cases, as with young sports people, perhaps even grinding to a halt. Yet some things have endured, like our sense of community and comradeship in adversity. Communities across the country have come together to help others and our new partnership with the Melton Building Society is a great example of this.
“Through SportsAid, the Society is supporting local, talented young sports people from the communities in which it operates. Helping young, local heroes to bounce-back and find their sporting routine again. Organisations like the Melton Building Society recognise the importance of helping the next generation.”
ENDS
The picture shows (left to right): Kelechi Aguocha, Amber Hancock, Xavi Salcedo, Millie Van Nierop.
NOTES TO EDITORS
THE MELTON BUILDING SOCIETY
The Melton is a modern mutual building society that helps people buy their own homes, make the most of their savings and find independent financial advice. With over 40,000 members, the Society has three local branches in Melton, Grantham and Oakham.
For further information please contact Jane Gilhespy, Communications Manager, the Melton on 01664 414141 or email j.gilhespy@mmbs.co.uk.
SPORTSAID
SportsAid supports over 1,000 athletes each year – the vast majority aged 12 to 18 – by providing them with a financial award to help towards training and competition costs. This acts as a real motivational boost as it is often the first recognition they receive outside of their support network. Most of them rely heavily on their parents as they have no other funding.
These athletes are Great Britain’s brightest sporting prospects. They are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on set criteria from each. The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.
The charity delivers personal development opportunities to many athletes through workshop sessions. This sees them offered mentoring by Olympians and Paralympians while gaining advice from industry experts on performance lifestyle management, sports psychology, nutrition, telling your story through the media and how best to seek further sponsorship.
Since 1976, SportsAid has supported tens of thousands of athletes by distributing over £50 million in awards. The charity’s extensive alumni stretches across the generations with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Mo Farah, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Katherine Grainger, Daley Thompson CBE and Denise Lewis OBE all stand-out names.
More recently, Laura Kenny CBE, Ellie Simmonds OBE, Adam Peaty MBE, Georgie Hermitage MBE, Jade Jones MBE, Hollie Arnold MBE, Pam Relph MBE, Natasha Baker MBE, Tom Daley, Lutalo Muhammad and Dina Asher-Smith have all received SportsAid awards within the last decade.
The charity’s impressive track record was highlighted at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games where SportsAid alumni won 150 medals. This included 46 of Team GB’s 67 medals (20 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze) and 104 of ParalympicsGB’s 147 medals (44 gold, 28 silver and 32 bronze).
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge became the Patron of SportsAid in 2013 and has met many talented young athletes helped by the charity, as well as Olympians and Paralympians who were previous beneficiaries at training days, performance workshops and fundraising events.
SportsAid also manages the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) and Backing The Best (BTB) programme on behalf of Sport England. TASS helps athletes (16-plus) balance their sporting and academic careers, while BTB supports the most financially challenged young sports stars.
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER – (#1111612)
WEBSITE – www.sportsaid.org.uk
