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Chesterfield athletes share bursaries

7 April 2010

The fund supports athletes who compete for England or Great Britain or have the potential to do so within 18 months, and among those to receive a bursary are table tennis players Isobel Ashley, Lucy Davidson, Sean Cullen, Daniel Lowe and Liam Pitchford.

They are joined by water polo players Jeremy Austin, Holly Redford-Jones and Amy Sykes, squash player Ashley Davies, shot putter Yasmin Spencer and karate champion Jade Hopkinson, who have also received cash to help meet the costs of training and competition.

Among the fund’s financial backers are Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council and the University of Derby.

Cllr Keith Lomas and Cllr David Stone from Chesterfield Borough Council; Cllr Kevin Parkinson from Derbyshire County Council; Ollie Shearer, Sports Development Coordinator at the University of Derby, and Cllr Clive Moesby, Chair of Derbyshire Sport, gathered to congratulate the athletes at Queen's Park Sports Centre on April 1.

The athletes were also presented with free leisure passes for Queen's Park Sports Centre and the Healthy Living Centre to help them with their training as they bid to reach the top in their chosen sport.

Cllr David Stone, Lead Member for Safe, Healthy and Active Communities at Chesterfield Borough Council, said: "It's always a delight to reward these young people who are achieving so much in their chosen sport.  It's especially encouraging to see such a diverse range of sports represented. I wish them all the very best with their sporting careers."

More about each of the athletes is below.

Now in its third year, the Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund has been set up thanks to contributions from a number of partners, including local authorities and businesses.

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

Rolls-Royce, the University of Derby, Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Lorson International, Derby College and the Electrical Contractors Association have also all shown their support financially for a third year.

The 11 athletes are:

Isobel Ashley (Table Tennis)

Isobel, (13), has been included in the England U13 squads over the last 12 months, training with the British Table Tennis Federation group in Sheffield. She has now progressed to the Youth Development International Squad and was chosen to be part of the England youth development team to train and compete in Croatia. Isobel, from Barrow Hill, is also the 2009 Liverpool Cadet Open Champion. She recently competed at an international table tennis tournament in Sweden, and also won the Derbyshire Schools U13 competition without dropping a set. She will represent Derbyshire at the National Finals at the end of April.

Jeremy Austin (Water Polo)

16-year-old Jeremy, from Chesterfield, is a member of the GB 93 men’s squad. He hopes to be selected to compete at the Water Polo European Championships this summer, as well as competing in the North East Counties Boys League and Sheffield National League Division Two. He recently competed in the Debica Cup and the Slowianka Cup in Poland.

Sean Cullen (Table Tennis)

Sean, from Brimington, competed in several Junior Opens and the Junior British Championships in 2009 and his accolades included Junior British Champion 2009, UK School Games bronze medallist and National U16 School team gold medallist. 16-year-old Sean is a member of the England Junior International Squads and hopes to make selection for the England team for the European Youth Championships this year. He was due to compete at the Worlds Schools’ Championships in the Czech Republic at the end of March.

Lucy Davidson (Table Tennis)

15-year-old Lucy, from Mastin Moor, was part of the English Cadet team last year, playing in numerous opens and the European Championships. She has now moved up to the Junior age group and was selected to play for England in the English Senior Open, part of the ITTF Pro Tour. Her achievements in 2009 included becoming English Cadet National Champion and English Schools U18 National Champion.

Ashley Davies (Squash)

Chesterfield’s Ashley Davies, (15), competed for England Juniors at the Home Internationals against Scotland, Ireland and Wales in Dublin in March last year. He became East Midlands Regional Champion at U15 level in September and was runner-up at the England Squash Grand Prix in Nottingham. He is England No.2 at U15, and No.9 in Europe in the same age group.

Jade Hopkinson (Karate)

Jade, (12), is a KTBF Team England British Pairs Champion and competed at the WTKA World Championships in Italy last year.

Daniel Lowe (Table Tennis)

16-year-old Daniel, from Brimington, competed for England in both the Spanish Open and Swedish Open in 2009 and won a silver team medal in the Schools International. He competed at the Senior Nationals at Ponds Forge at the start of March, making it to the quarter finals in the men’s doubles and the last 32 in the men’s singles. He was due to compete at the Worlds Schools’ Championships in the Czech Republic at the end of March and hopes to compete at the European Championships in July.

Liam Pitchford (Table Tennis)

Liam has competed for England at both junior and senior level, competing at the World Student Games, European Junior Championships, Six Nations Seniors Championships and an ITTF invitation event in Honk Kong. The 16-year-old, from Brimington, is now playing full time and hopes to compete at the Olympic Games in 2012. He is the ETTA Junior No.2 with two years to go in this category.

Holly Redford-Jones (Waterpolo)

16-year-old Holly trains with the GB 93/94 age group team and competes for the Sheffield B team in the National League. She hopes to be selected to compete at the British Gas ASA Championships later this year.

Yasmin Spencer (Shot Putt)

Yasmin, from Ashover, represented GB at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Finland last year. The 16-year-old also competed at the UK School Games and the Sheffield Aviva English Schools Championships and is a member of Chesterfield and District Athletics Club.

Amy Sykes (Waterpolo)

Amy, (16), is currently a part of the GB Youth Womens squad and plays in the National League for City of Sheffield B team. The Walton teenager is also hoping for selection to compete at the British Gas ASA Championships later this year.