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18 athletes from Derby rewarded for their sporting excellence

29 April 2008

Derby’s pool of sporting excellence includes athletes competing in basketball, boxing, gymnastics, kick-boxing, snooker, triple jump, triathlon and water sports, and 18 have been selected to receive a bursary of £300 each.

The Fund aims to help the county ’s and city’s top sporting performers make the most of their talent, and has received contributions from a number of local authorities, businesses and other organisations.

The athletes were presented with their cheques at Moorways Sports Centre Stadium on Friday, April 18.

Derby City Council’s Paul Robinson, Head Director of Environmental Services, co-presented the cheques, along with Phillip Horton, Head of Business Risk and Support at Rolls-Royce, Mike Umphray, Project Manager-Business Growth at Spirita Limited and Joe Meakin, Moorways Sports Complex Manager.

Derby City Council, Rolls-Royce and Spirita are among the contributors to the Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund.

All other local authorities in Derbyshire and a number of other local businesses and organisations have also shown their support financially. A full list is below.

About the athletes:

Claire O’Reilly (Athletics – Triple Jump)

19-year-old triple jumper Claire O’Reilly, from Chaddesden, finished in first place in an English Schools' Athletic Association (ESAA) championship in Birmingham in 2007.

Her personal best has improved from 11.76m to 12.25m in the past year and, having moved up to under-23 level, she now hopes to increase her personal best to over 13m and exceed the power of ten national target so that she can challenge for England/Great Britain selection and be selected for Worlds and Europeans.

Ben Atterbury (Basketball)

16-year-old Ben Atterbury from Oakwood plays for the Derby Trailblazers and is also part of the England U18 squad. He was involved in the England programme 2007 as a fringe player within the squad, and as a member of the Derby Trailblazers team represented the age group team in the National Basketball League. The basketball season is now drawing to a close and he will play his last match for Derby Trailblazers U18's in the National Finals at RAF Cosford on April 20. He has also been chosen to captain the East Midlands Regional Team who will be training through the summer leading up to a National Competition for all regions later in the year.

Mikey Manghum (Basketball)

Mikey Manghum, (17), plays for the Derby Trailblazers and England U18 squad. He represented the country on the England programme 2007 as a member of the team, and travelled to Estonia to the U16 European Championships (B Division) where he helped the team finish 3rd. As a member of the Derby Trailblazers team, Mikey played for the 2nd team in Division 4 of the National Basketball League, and after winning the playoff final at Moorways on April 5 they have been promoted to Division 3 for next season.

Tom Pereira (Basketball)

Tom Pereira, (17), competed in the European Championships in summer of 2007 as part of the under 16 England Basketball squad. They came fourth in the championship out of 21 countries, losing the bronze medal to Sweden by one point. He is currently in the Derby Trailblazers under 18 team, which won the England Basketball Premier Midlands League this season. He will be going to the National Championships at RAF Cosford Shropshire on April 20th with the same team hoping to win the under 18 National Championship title.

Danny Hunt (Boxing)

18-year-old Danny Hunt from Chaddesden is a national champion and part of the Derbyshire Amateur Boxing Association Performance Squad. He will be hoping to win the Junior ABA Championships when he competes in April.

Usman Malik (Boxing)

Usman Malik, (19), from Littleover, is a national semi-finalist and part of the Derbyshire Amateur Boxing Association Performance Squad.

Nick Archer (Canoe Polo)

Derby’s Nick Archer, (30), has had an established paddling career both within Canoe Slalom and Polo, specialising within Polo for both the Great Britain Team and Viking Canoe Club. He has helped the GB Team gain medals at both World and European level, and remains a strong contender to help GB succeed at the 2008 World Canoe Polo Championships being held in Canada in July.

Andrew Petrie (Canoe Polo)

21-year-old Andrew Petrie has represented the Great Britain Canoe Polo Under 21 Team for the past five years and at the 2007 European Championships in France finished 4th. He now has the potential to gain full recognition into the Senior Team and compete for Great Britain during the 2008 World Championships in Canada in July.

Ricky Blampied (Gymnastics)

16-year-old Ricky Blampied, from Allenton, competed in the World Special Olympics in Shanghai in October 2007, representing Great Britain, bringing home two Gold and four Silver medals. He has recently competed in a southern regional competition in Jersey for the Special Olympics getting one Gold, two Bronze and three Silvers.

Both these were competing at level three. He is now training hard for the Special Olympics in July in Leicester.

Charlotte Caunt (Gymnastics)

Mackworth’s Charlotte Caunt, (11), only started taking part in gymnastics two years ago and, through representing Derby City Gymnastics Club, has worked her way up through Derbyshire County Tumbling, through to regional competitions. In her first year in the National Squad she proved herself worthy of her place by finishing 17th at the World Age Group Championships (11-12 years) Women's Tumbling Qualification. She won a bronze medal last month at the British Tumbling Gymnastics Championships and has also qualified into the British Womens Artistic Club grade finals, which is taking place on April 26 in Birmingham.

Damien Walters (Gymnastics)

25-year-old Damien Walters from Derby is the current British Champion, having won the British Championships (Senior Men) last year. He achieved 5th place at the World Cup in Belgium in May, and 4th place at the World Championships (Senior Men's Team) in November 2007.

Demi Watkins (Gymnastics)

At just 11 years old Demi is already in the Great Britain Squad. Her achievements to date include 1st place in the International Age Group Competition, Poland 11-12 years Women's Tumbling, 4th place at the British Championships 11-12 years Women's Tumbling and 6th place at the World Age Group Championships 11-12 years Women's Tumbling Final.

Jessica Collier (Kickboxing)

Oakwood’s Jessica Collier, (16), won a Gold medal in the (Light Continuous) 50kg young ladies representing Great Britain in the WAKO European Championships and also scooped a Gold medal in the same event at the WAKO UK Championships last year.

Duane Reid (Kickboxing)

27-year-old kickboxer Duane Reid, from Alvaston, is the British No1 in Sport Kickboxing (81kg - 86kg). His titles to date include WKA/IAKSA World Champion, World Peace Games Gold Medallist, IAKSA World Cup Winner, WAKO European Champion, Cimac Super League Grand Champion, PKA, EMA, Cimac English and British Champion. This year he hopes to compete regularly in the Kickboxing Super League.

Simon Foskett (Sailing)

17-year-old Simon Foskett, from Allestree, is a member of the 420 dinghy National squad who train regularly over the winter months. Over the winter they achieved 13th place in 197 competitors at the Tiger Trophy event held at Rutland water in February then 3rd place at the Highcliffe 420 Easter Regatta. They look forward to the specific 420 events start this month with selection events for the worlds and euros teams.

Matt Foskett (Sailing)

15-year-old Matt Foskett, from Allestree, finished 2007 with a national ranking of 27th. He is currently a member of the National Optimist squad who train regularly over the winter months. The major events start with the Braassemermeer Easter Regatta. Matt finished 63rd in a fleet of 240 top sailors. Within the next month he will compete in the selection events to determine the worlds and euros teams for 2008 followed by the inland championships.

Hannah Jones (Snooker)

11-year-old Hannah Jones is currently ranked 15th by the World Ladies and Billiards Snooker Association. She is currently training to play in the World Ladies Championships in May, and will also be competing in the World Ladies Junior Championships (under 18). In March she beat the current World Ladies number 6, Eva Palmius in the last 16 of the event to make it through to the quarter finals of the Connie Gough National Ladies Championships in Luton.

David Bishop (Triathlon)

16-year-old David Bishop, from Allestree, was placed 2nd at the National Youth Duathlon Championships and Inter Regional Triathlon Championships, and 4th in the National Youth Triathlon Championships. His main goal for 2008 is to qualify for the European youth relay team, which will compete in the European Championships in Spain in September.

The 18 Derby City athletes are among 60 sports performers from across Derbyshire supported by the Fund, and all of whom are competing for England or Great Britain or have the potential to do so within 18 months.

In addition to Derby City Council, other contributers to the fund are South Derbyshire District Council, Derbyshire County Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, Amber Valley Borough Council, Erewash Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, and Derbyshire Dales District Council.

Other funders are: East Midlands Airport, the University of Derby, Rolls-Royce, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lorson International, Derby College, Spirita, Fairgrove Group, East Midlands Development Agency, the Electrical Contractors Association, Derbyshire County Cricket Club and Derbyshire Building Society.