Derbyshire Sport website search

Enter keyword - eg. athletics

More talented sports people presented with Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund bursaries

6 August 2008

The two athletes receiving bursaries are Derbyshire Dales' Charlotte Horton (Cricket) and Chesterfield's Michael Torkington (Tennis).

Both Charlotte and Michael collected a £300 cheque during a presentation at County Hall, Matlock on Tuesday, August 5.

The Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund was set up to help promising sports performers from Derby and Derbyshire make the most of their talent, and a number of local authorities, businesses and other organisations have contributed.

Co-presenting the cheques were representatives from some of the funding partners- Cllr Cate Hunt, Chairman of the District of Derbyshire Dales; Cllr Clive Moesby, Chairman of Derbyshire Sport; Darren Aldred, Senior Marketing Services Manager at Derbyshire Building Society; Cllr Joyce Sanders, Chair of Derbyshire County Council; Richard Stephen, Head of Leisure Services at Chesterfield Borough Council and Les Warren, Leisure Officer at Derbyshire Dales District Council.

Chesterfield's Jake Meakin (Clay Pigeon Shooting), High Peak's Madeleine Thompson (Wheelchair Basketball) and Anna Miles Malti (Fencing), and North East Derbyshire's George and Leo Marshall (Canoe Slalom) will also receive £300 bursaries, but were unable to attend the presentation event.

More about each of the athletes is below. They are among 76 sports performers from across Derbyshire supported by the Fund, all of whom are competing for England or Great Britain or have the potential to do so within 18 months.

Chesterfield

Jake Meakin (Clay pigeon shooting)

Jake, from Walton, (17), competed in the World Championships in Cyprus in September 2007, his first international competition, and will be considered to compete again for GB this year. He has been selected for the British International Clay Target Shooting Federation Training Squads for 2008 in the Olympic skeet junior men squad.

Michael Torkington (Tennis)

15-year-old Michael, from Chesterfield, currently trains at the High Performance Centre at Nottingham Tennis Centre. He has won a number of national tournaments including Aerial Grand Prix events and is currently ranked within the top 20 junior players of his age in the country. Michael has also performed successfully in a number of European Tennis Association Tournaments. He was a member of the Nottingham Tennis Centre team that was crowned national champions in the final of the National Junior Club League in 2007. He has led the Derbyshire junior county teams on many occasions and has also represented Great Britain at U12 and U14 level.

Derbyshire Dales

Charlotte Horton (Cricket)

22-year-old Charlotte, from Matlock, is in the England Women's Development Squad and is also Captain of the Derbyshire Women's team. She is part of the Diamonds squad which is currently competing in the women's Super4s, and has been asked to return to the Western Australia Women's Cricket Squad for the 2008/09 season.

HighPeak

Madeleine Thompson (Wheelchair Basketball)

At the 2007 National Juniors Championships 13-year-old Madeleine, from Hope Valley , was awarded the most valued player of the year. She has recently attended the GB training camps at Stoke Mandeville, and competed at the European Junior Championships in May.

Anna Miles 'Malti (Fencing)

15-year-old Anna, from Glossop, was selected to join the Cadet Potential Programme in March as she is ranked in the top six in her age group, gender and weapon in the UK. The CPP is funded by the British Fencing Association and involves 3-4 training weekends per year. Anna attended her first session in March. In April she took first place in the North West Championship Ladies Sabre Open, after coming second at the British Youth Championships Sabre finals (U16) in February.

North East Derbyshire

George and Leo Marshall (Canoe Slalom)

George, (18), and his younger brother Leo, (16), from Dronfield Woodhouse, have been competing in canoe slalom for around 16 months in the C2 category. They finished last season ranked 8th nationally in the premier division of the national ranking system (3rd Juniors). They were selected to represent England in this year's Pan Celtic Cup, a home international series in England, Scotland and Wales, and have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Canoe Slalom Championships and the Junior European Championships this summer.

The following local authorities have financially supported the Talented Athlete Fund: Derbyshire County Council, South Derbyshire District Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, Derby City Council, High Peak Borough Council, Amber Valley Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Erewash Borough Council, Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire Dales District Council.

A number of local companies have also contributed, including Derbyshire Building Society, Derby College, Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Lorson International, East Midlands Airport, Electrical Contractors Association, Fairgrove Group, Spirita, East Midlands Development Agency, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rolls-Royce and the University of Derby.