Applications have opened in Swindon for the 2025 GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) awards.
The largest athlete programme of its kind in the UK, GSF awards include financial help, access to sport facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and mental health wellbeing support.
Talented athletes competing in Olympic or Paralympic disciplines and who live or train in Swindon have been invited to apply for an award.
In 2024, 41 sportsmen and women from across the town won awards worth over £28,000 – among them local paralympic athletes Corie Mapp (bobsleigh) Suzanne Hext (swimming) and Chris Skelley MBE (Judo).
After winning a bronze medal in Judo in the +90kg J2 category of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, GLL Sport Foundation supported athlete Chris Skelley said: “I was so happy to win a second Paralympic medal at the 2024 Paris Games. It was a dream come true and I am so grateful for all the support I received from the GLL Sport Foundation! Thank you.”
GLL Community Sport Manager for Swindon, Mark Harrison said: “It’s a real privilege to see the difference GSF awards can make in helping talented sportsmen and women achieve their potential.
“The scheme is now in its seventeenth year and thousands of athletes in Swindon and beyond have benefited from the wide-ranging support available during that time.
“Sporting success is a great source of national pride and I’m proud to be part of an organisation that actively encourages sporting excellence in such a practical, hands-on way.”
According to research carried out by OnePoll on behalf of GSF, two thirds of Britons (66%) say they believe more should be done to support the nation’s talented young athletes achieve sporting success and over a quarter (27%) say that a career in sport offers great opportunities to young people from under privileged backgrounds.
Operating under the Better brand, GLL is the not-for-profit social enterprise that operates leisure centres across Swindon on behalf of Swindon Borough Council.
The deadline for GSF Awards applications is 20 February 2025. For more information and an application form, go to www.gllsportfoundation.org
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