FANS members in full-time education can apply for a small grant to help them with the costs associated with training and competing at a National and International level. Read below how some FANS members have used the grant to support their training and competing.
Ellen Tribley – Wheelchair Tennis
“The small grant award was spent on one to one training before school with my coach and court hire fees so that my parents can hit with me and I can get in more practice. I trained really hard throughout last year for my first full year of competition.
My standard of play improved a great deal and in December 2023 I won the LTA National Finals held in Shrewsbury becoming the girls National Champion at Wheelchair Tennis. Although I am ranked World 25, I now hope to step up my training further and compete more at an international level this year to improve my skills, strength and my ability.“
Emilia Pop – Ski Racing
“Emilia used her grant towards attending the British schools girls race in Flaine, France, travelling with her school ski team and had two days of training before two days of racing. On Day 1 she placed 5th and on Day 2 placing 4th with an overall 3rd place.
Emilia’s training generally comprises of around 10 weeks in Austria in addition to her race weeks, which is a significant investment. As a family we are grateful for any form of financial support as she works very hard to achieve her best.
Emilia suffered with her nerves this race block and in particular on Day 2 for the Slalom, she placed 8th. But in the absence of her usual ski coach she was determined to perform her best and told herself what her coach would say and succeeded in improving to 3rd place on her second run”.
Lena Bozic – Acrobatic Gymnastics
“Lena and her partner were chosen to join Team GB and represented Great Britain at European Acro gymnastics competition in October 2023. They are aiming to represent Great Britain at World Championship in Israel, which was supposed to be in March 2024, but this has been postponed and the funding award received for Lena will now be used towards World Championship in October 2024.
It made Lena proud to compete as part of Team GB at one of the biggest competitions in her sport. Lena and her partner have great coaches in their gymnastics club and will soon be moving to the older year group, which means new moves and new skills to be learnt. The competitors from other countries are traditionally very strong in their performances and technical skills, but Lena and her partner take that as a challenge and are practicing daily for three hours to be ready for that next chapter.”
Marcus Pop – Ski Racing
“Marcus put the funding award towards attending the English Alpine Championships in Bormio, Italy. He had a week training in Austria before taking a minibus with his team to Italy in order to compete. He skied well, placing in the top three Brits for his age group in all three events.
The cost of Marcus’s training is very high, not least as most of it is overseas but any additional time on snow is a benefit to him. This year has been rather difficult for Marcus as he moved from U10 year group to U12; physically a very different field. He has gone from winning very regularly and quite easily to needing to work hard on and off the slope to achieve his best. He has shown a good level of resilience for a 10 year old and we are very proud of him“.
Sophie Richmond – Triathlon
“This year I was selected for the South East triathlon team to race in the IRC’s at Mallory Park. I used the funding to pay for my south East Team Tri Suit and stay in the team hotel. Having the funding and the FANS membership helps me to achieve my goals in my sport. It alleviates some of the costs of my training, equipment and travel.
In the Winter I do Cross Country running and have been selected to represent Kent in the Inter Regionals in Nottingham and also the English Schools Championships in Pontefract in March 2024. With Triathlon there is always equipment that needs maintaining or replacing such as bike maintenance, swimming equipment, wetsuits, running and biking shoes as well as travel to events and training. It is very expensive and the funding helps me to be able to continue with the sport I love”.
