Funding available for future Notts sports stars

Nottinghamshire County Council has this week opened two annual grant schemes – the Community Sports Fund and the Rising Stars Fund – which aim to increase participation and harness local talent.

Applications for 2014 funding are now welcome for:

Community Sports Fund: grants of £500 to £1,500 (or £1,000 for clubs without Club Mark status) available for clubs to support projects to encourage more people to take part or retain and develop existing members.

Funding is available for costs such as coaching fees, facility hire, equipment and publicity costs for projects starting after October 2014.

Rising Stars: grants of up to £400 are available for individual sportspeople aged 19 and under, competing at a regional or national level. Funding is available for expenses such as travel, training, accommodation, competition fees, equipment, coaching and other specialist support. Applicants must live in Nottinghamshire (not the City of Nottingham) and compete in a sport recognised by Sport England.

The council is particularly keen to receive applications which help the most disadvantaged or vulnerable people to enjoy the benefits of competing in sport.

The closing date for applications for both schemes is 22nd July 2014. Further information and application forms are available from www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/sport-support or by calling 0115 9773464.

Last year, around 70 of the county’s brightest young sporting stars and 15 sports clubs were backed by grants from the schemes, totalling around £40,000.

Amongst the recipients was Freestyle Skier, Ethan Davis (12) from Mansfield.

Ethan has received Rising Stars funding for the last two years which has helped with a variety of costs, including equipment, training, travel and competition entries.

He recently won Gold in the Halfpipe event at the British Freestyle Championships in Tignes, France - finishing fourth overall.

Ethan’s dad, Johnny Davis, said: “Freestyle skiing is a very expensive sport. Ethan spends 3-4 months of the year competing abroad and we estimate it costs between £8-10,000 a year to support him.

“The support we receive from Nottinghamshire County Council and other sponsorship is a lifeline - it would be difficult to maintain the level he has reached without the support he gets.”

Amongst other athletes to receive Rising Stars funding last year were Hucknall teenagers Freya Christie (tennis), who made her Wimbledon debut aged just 15 and Ellie Downie (Gymnastics) who won a Gold Medal in the Junior Vault at the European Championships.