It was all a bit grand last night in the Millennium Chamber
of the Manor House in Littlehampton and in the presence of The Mayor of
Littlehampton, Councillor Ian Buckland and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Billy
Blanchard-Cooper. With Rebecca Holloway playing hostess in her position of
Events and Publicity Manager.
The new Millennium Chamber is a perfect setting for a medium
size gathering such as it was last night for these Awards for Sporting
Excellence. This award from Littlehampton Council was for those lucky enough to
have been selected for a financial award in the form of a cheque to be used for
equipment and/or travel for those working very hard at their chosen sport. I
believe to qualify for the financial award you must have a local postcode.
As to myself as the most mature of the sports people
attending, I have been so lucky to have gathered recognition from the council
and Sports Forum of the town in which I have lived for fifty five years. I have
been the recipient of The Sports Person of the Year twice and also a runner up
in the past and having won a similar title in Worthing
last year. This is the second year running that I have been honoured with a
cheque to help with the high cost of triathlon entries and travel; I have two
trips to Europe on my race plan for this year as well as a race in Chester and
another in Eton on top of a number of local events that are also important
races.
Last night was the second time I have had the pleasure of
meeting the towns current Mayor Cllr. Ian Buckland and maybe the third or forth
time, meeting Cllr Billy Blanchard-Cooper who is Chair of the Sports Forum.
There was an atmosphere of some celebration for the awards last evening and
refreshments were freely available to all the sports folk and their families at
this warm and friendly reception.
As one would expect, most of the recipients were young
people, some of them very young to have done so well in their sport that their
efforts were to be financially supported. My husband/coach Steve and I were
happy to see that a number of them were having great success with their
swimming, which of course is close to our hearts as one discipline of our sport
of triathlon. It was also nice to meet up with other people that we know in our
sporting world who were there with their award winning children.
It is my hope that in future years many more youngsters in
my town will find an interest in sport and pursue it with all their might and
that they might find themselves having the backing and support of their home
town in the future. It is a great hopeful thing that a town as small as ours is
willing to recognise the practice and devotion its young people with these
financial awards. Lets hope it leads to more and more success of the towns youth.
The body of press release from the Town Council follows here:
Town Council Supports Local
Sports Stars
A total of nine Littlehampton residents are sharing a pot of £2,000
awarded to them by the Littlehampton Sports Forum to be used towards their
sporting career.
The Financial Awards for Sporting Excellence initiative has provided
£20,000 worth of grants since its launch in 2006 with dozens of local people
benefiting from the extra help for their chosen sport.
Six of the nine applicants were from the Littlehampton Swimming Club,
who have a record of training talented swimmers. Other recipients included nine
times World Champion Triathlete Daphne Belt and dancer Jessica Baker, who is
currently studying at the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in London
This year’s awards have been allocated as follows:
1.
Madison Walker, 14
A talented swimmer who has been competing at
county level since 2012. This year she won silver in the 200m breaststroke and
bronze in the medley at the County Winter Competition. She was the top
performer in her age group and also won the overall points trophy. Her goal is
to gain more competition experience at a higher level and to inspire younger
swimmers. The funds will help Madison
2. Daphne Belt, 77
A triathlete who received the Littlehampton
Sportsperson of the Year Award in 2014 & 16 and is the 9 times world
champion in her age group. Daphne competes at an international level and has
ambitions of becoming the 10 times world champion by competing in the 2017
Grand Final in Rotterdam
3. Jessica Baker, 16
A talented dancer, who has won numerous
awards for her dancing. She has just started on a 3 year scholarship at the
prestigious Doreen Bird College
in London
4. Jessica brown, 16
An ambitious swimmer who has been ranked 1st
in her age group in Sussex
5. Beth Kincaid, 15
Beth is a talented footballer who, over the
past year, has moved up from training at Brighton
invitational centre to the advance centre. She is in the Sussex Schools Under
16s Squad. She is hoping to play for the Brighton
Academy through Worthing college and
would one day like to play for England
6. Daniel Fernandes, 11
Daniel is a key member of the Littlehampton
Swimming Club’s National Area League Team and Sussex
7. Amber Brown, 12
A strong swimmer, Amber competed at the 2016
Sussex County Championships in the butterfly event. In July she won all of her
events at the Club Championship. Her coach is confident she will qualify for
the Sussex County Championships where she will be swimming in the 14 year age
group. Her goal is to swim at a regional and national level. The funds will
help towards training and a race swimsuit.
8. Ella Thornburg, 10
Ella is a dedicated swimmer who trains 6
hours a week. She competed in the 2016 Sussex County ASA Championships and
broke the club 500m butterfly record for her age. She is one of the fastest
swimmers in her age group and has qualified for the 2017 Sussex County
Championships. The funds will go towards training and equipment.
9 Marissa Netherwood, 9
Marissa is an excellent swimmer who competed
in the 2016 Sussex County Championships. She finished top 8 in her age group
and was selected to the Sussex County Development squad. At the Winter County
Championships she finished 4th in her age group and has qualified to
the 2017 championships. She has broken 3 club records for her age. Funds will
go towards training and equipment.
Speaking about the Awards, the Chair of the Littlehampton Sports Forum
Councillor Billy Blanchard-Cooper said: “The Sports Forum was overwhelmed by
the standard of this year’s applicants and impressed by their achievements. The
level of talent in our Town is incredible and the awards are the Town Council’s
way of encouraging great sportsmanship in Littlehampton.”
The cheques were presented by the Town Mayor Councillor Ian Buckland,
who said he felt “really proud of their achievements and wished them all the
best for 2017”.
Issued by: Peter
Herbert
Position: Town
Clerk
Contact: Becky
Holloway
Tel: 01903 732063
Date: 15th
December 2016
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