Top athletes from South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse took to the Beacon Theatre in Wantage on Wednesday 26th June to celebrate the GSF 2024 South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Sports Awards.
More than 100 people attended the event to celebrate the local sporting talent and the support offered by the GLL Sports Foundation. In South Oxfordshire 44 athletes are benefiting from £29,650 worth of funding with 70% of the athletes not receiving any other central funding and in the Vale of White Horse 42 athletes are supported valuing £24,800 with 83% not receiving any other central funding.
The support covers 18 different sports in the Vale and 23 in South Oxfordshire. This includes triathlon, touch rugby and trampolining as well as less common sports such as obstacle sport and wheelchair motor cross. The scheme has a high uptake from younger athletes with 48% being aged under 21 in South Oxfordshire and 67% in the Vale.
Medals and certificates were presented to the athletes by Gary Starkey, Head of Service at GLL, and Kate Mulrey, Community Sport Manager at GLL and all athletes left with a goodie bag of different sporting items.
A real highlight from the evening was the athlete Q&A where Erin Kennedy, Paralympic gold medallist in rowing, and Elizabeth Ryan, modern pentathlon GB development athlete, shared their sporting experiences and advice. Elizabeth is a long standing GSF athlete having been on the scheme since 2018 whereas Erin joined the scheme last year. Attendees were thrilled to be able to take a photo with Erin’s Tokyo gold medal after the event.
The scheme continues to grow on a national level with 28,146 athlete awards inclusive of 117 different sports. The total support value is a staggering £15,386,230 which could be possible without its sponsors and key partners including National Governing Bodies, Sports Aid and Additional Athlete Services.
