Amber Valley sporting stars receive bursaries from Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund
Eleven of Amber Valley’s brightest sporting stars have had their achievements recognised, with bursaries of £300 each.
Belper gymnast Greg Townley and swimmer Fiona Donnelly, and boxer Brett Sykes and cricketer Christelene Steinhobel, both from Alfreton, are among those to receive a cash boost from the Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund.
Also collecting bursaries are Alfreton Taekwon-do competitors Kelly Gough and brother and sister Gavin and Kimberly Bradshaw, Denby archery competitor Sarah Smith, Duffield hockey players Joanna Lane and Laura Bridge, and Oakwood hockey player Richard Cassidy.
The Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund currently supports 60 sports performers from across the county who are competing for England or Great Britain or have the potential to do so within 18 months.
Athletes can use the bursaries to help further their sporting careers, contributing towards meeting training costs such as coaching fees, travel and equipment, and have been available thanks to contributions from a number of partners.
Contributors to the Fund include Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, and all other local authorities in Derbyshire have also shown their support finacially.
A number of local businesses have also contributed, including Fairgrove Group and Derbyshire Building Society, as well as East Midlands Airport, the University of Derby, Rolls-Royce, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lorson International, Derby College, Spirita, East Midlands Development Agency, the Electrical Contractors Association and Derbyshire County Cricket Club.
The 11 athletes from Amber Valley were each presented with a £300 cheque on Wednesday, April 23.
The Mayor of Amber Valley, Cllr Peter Arnold, co-presented the cheques, along with Dan Newton, Derbyshire Sport’s Governing Bodies Officer, andSteve Midgley, Managing Director of Fairgrove Homes and Fairgrove Homes Marketing Director Steve Mallett.
About the athletes:
Sarah Smith (Archery)
16-year-old Sarah Smith from Denby is currently ranked 1st (under 16) and 3rd (under 18) in Great Britain. She has shot for Great Britain five times, competing at the World Indoor Championships in Turkey, the European Championships in Portugal and the European Cup in Cyprus and the Ukraine. She also competed at the European Indoor Championships in Italy in March. She is now preparing for The World Grand Prix in Turkey at the end of May, and will fly out with the senior team this time.
Brett Sykes (Boxing)
15-year-old Brett Sykes, from Alfreton, is a national champion and part of the Derbyshire Amateur Boxing Association Performance Squad. His goals for the next 12 months include continuing to hold his current titles of Derbyshire Champion, Midland Champion, Northzone Champion and National Golden Glove Champion, as well as retaining his ABA No.1 ranking at class, age and weight.
Christelene Steinhobel (Cricket)
Christelene Steinhobel, (17), from Alfreton, has been part of Derbyshire Cricket Board’s Mini Academy for the past two years, and is one of only two girls in the programme.
Despite her age she has played a full part in the Derbyshire Womens Senior side, playing nine matches for Derbyshire last season and scoring a total of 131 runs with a highest score of 49. She was also selected to play in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Junior Super 4s Competition, and scored 35 runs in two games. She also bowled and took three wickets for 21 runs off eight overs.
Greg Townley (Gymnastics)
11-year-old Greg Townley, from Belper, won the University of Derby Junior Sportsman of the Year title at the 2007 Derbyshire Sports Awards.
Since being selected for the British Team, Greg has become the British Champion in his age group and achieved 1st place in the British Championships (11-12 years) Men's Tumbling and International Age Group Competition, Poland 11-12 years Men's Tumbling. He was also placed 9th at the World Age Group Championships (11-12 years) Men's Tumbling Qualification. In March this year he competed in the British Tumbling Championships and won the gold medal in his age group 11-12 years by almost ten clear points. He is now four times British Tumbling Champion.
Laura Bridge (Hockey)
Duffield’s Laura Bridge, (18), is now part of the England U21 squad, having won a Gold medal at the England U18 European championship in Edinburgh and a Silver medal at the Euro 4 Nations in Barcelona in 2007. For this season she has been playing in the national league for Loughborough students, becoming BUSA (British University Sports Association) champions. Also after a busy training schedule with the U21 squad, she has been picked to represent the England U21 team in Edinburgh (April 26/27), where four teams picked from across England, Scotland and Wales will be competing in the GB Superleague.
Richard Cassidy (Hockey)
16-year-old Richard Cassidy is part of the Trent College team that won the U16 National Hockey championships last year. He played for the Midlands U16 in the Regional Championships last October, and is hoping to be selected for the U18 team this year. He is part of the Belper men’s 1st team squad that play in National league Division 2. He has recently been called up for an England U18 trial. This will be in July 2008 for the championships against Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Joanna Lane (Hockey)
15-year-old Joanna Lane, from Duffield, has achieved three national U15 Cup Gold Medals and an U16 indoor Silver medal through playing Hockey at Belper Hockey Club at National North Division. She has also represented the county, winning a national county Gold medal at U15, region, winning two Gold medals at U15. Through school hockey she has won four national schools titles at U14 and U16. Her representative honours include England U16 training squad in 2007 and selection for the U16 squad.
Fiona Donnelly (Swimming)
Belper’s Fiona Donnelly, (13) swims with Derventio Excel Swim squad. She met the qualification standards to compete in 11 events at the recent Olympic Trials & British Championships held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. She achieved personal best times in nine out of her 11 swims, and was particularly pleased with her 200m butterfly and 200m backstroke performances. The championships gave her great experience, and she is looking forward to attending a national camp later in the year as a member of British swimming's 2012 targeted squad.
Gavin Bradshaw (Taekwon-do)
Alfreton’s Gavin Bradshaw, (16), is currently ranked 3rd in the Cadet Division for sparring. His current titles include Scottish Heavyweight Mens Sparring Champion and Silver Medallist in Patterns Northern Open Champion. He represented England at the World ITF Takwon-Do Championships in Birmingham in 2007.
Kimberly Bradshaw (Taekwon-do)
18-year-old Kimberley Bradshaw, from Alfreton, is ranked No1 in Britain and No2 in the world. She won the University of Derby Junior Sportswoman of the Year title at the 2007 Derbyshire Sports Awards, and has captained the England girls team on a number of occasions. She helped win the overall Junior Championship Trophy, and at the World Championships won the overall girls team Champions Trophy.
Kelly Gough (Taekwon-do)
As a junior, 16-year-old Kelly Gough, from Alfreton, won a Gold medal in the British Championships at Sparring, a Gold medal at the 'World Kup' Championships at Birmingham and many additional medals for both Sparring and Patterns around the country. As an adult competitor Kelly won a Silver medal in Sparring at the British Championships in November 2007.
In addition to Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, other contributers to the fund are North East Derbyshire District Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Derby City Council, High Peak Borough Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Erewash Borough Council and Derbyshire Dales District Council.
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 have also shown their support financially.