Issue 3 February 2024
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in this edition in this edition Applications are open!
Our Ambassador and Elite athletes Welcome to the new edition of Behind the Line
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Sporting champions awards and mentoring day 2023 Our Ambassador and Elite athletes What's to come this year Virtual mentoring day Social media Applications are open Testimonials from athletes Sporting Champions spotlight
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Coming up soon
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E A
S P O R T I N G
C H A M P I O N S
welcome
Since 2016, the Sporting Champions scheme has supported more than 5,000 athletes by providing them with free access to Everyone Active's 230-plus leisure centres nationwide. Mentoring was introduced in 2017 and this year, Sporting Champions will receive valuable group mentoring sessions and support from our panel of Olympic and Paralympic Elite athletes, including Lauren Steadman, Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, Maisie Summers-Newton, Lutalo Muhammad, Kadeena Cox and Richard Kilty, with Colin Jackson continuing as Ambassador. Now in its eighth year, the scheme will support more than 1,000 athletes for 2024, from grassroots level to Olympians and Paralympians. We’re proud to support such an incredible athletes and look forward to following our Elite athletes and Sporting Champion’s successes in 2024.
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application Applications for the Sporting Champions scheme are now open! From regional competitors to Paralympians and Olympians, we support athletes of all ages and at all levels. As a minimum, the applicant must either: •
Be a nationally ranked athlete
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Be a member of a regional squad with regional results in the previous two years or have represented at regional level in the previous two years
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Have finished in the top eight at regionals or equivalent competition in the previous two years
For more information on the scheme and how to apply, click here. Applications will close on Monday 11th March, so don’t miss your chance to become a Sporting Champion!
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ns are open How we can support you •
Provide athletes with free access to our training facilities at any of our 230-plus sports centres located all over the country
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Offer bespoke mentoring from experienced and successful athletes and professionals, including ambassador Colin Jackson and our panel of Elite athletes and industry professionals
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Provide athletes with the opportunity to inspire the next generation of athletes through our Sporting Champions awards and events
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We will support athletes via Everyone Active and Sporting Champion’s social media pages so make sure to follow and tag us in your posts
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A M B A S S A D O R
our ambassador and elite athletes For 2024, the legendary Colin Jackson, Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist and former world record holder, returns as the scheme’s Ambassador. He will be working alongside our line-up of inspiring Elite athletes who have starred on the Olympic and Paralympic stage – Lauren Steadman, Lutalo Muhammad, Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, Kadeena Cox, Richard Kilty and Maisie SummersNewton – in group mentoring sessions throughout the year. These sporting heroes will share their wisdom and expertise, guiding up and coming athletes every step of the way. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, no fewer than 30 Sporting Champions competed, taking home five gold, two silver and three bronze medals. With the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics quickly approaching, we hope to support even more athletes at this year’s event.
Colin said...
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“I’m passionate about nurturing young talent and the Sporting Champions scheme goes above and beyond in this mission. With the Olympics and Paralympics taking place in Paris this summer, the programme takes on even greater significance in 2024. Seeing these future champions flourish fuels my excitement for what’s to come.”
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SPORTING CHAMPIONS AWARDS AND MENTORING DAY In November, we were delighted to host our Sporting Champions Awards and Mentoring Day at Porchester Hall. We had an incredible 200 guests join us including young up and coming athletes, Everyone Active colleagues and our partners from across the country. The occasion marked our first awards event since 2019 and we were honoured to have Great Britain’s double world 110m hurdles champion and former world record holder Colin Jackson hosting the event. We started the day with mentoring sessions hosted by Olympic and Paralympic stars including Lutalo Muhammad, Richard Kilty, Maisie Summers-Newton, Kadeena Cox and Lauren Steadman, who shared their insights and experiences with the Sporting Champions. These sessions covered topics such as social media and media training, race day preparation and mental wellbeing and psychology in sport.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN OUR FUTURE MENTORING SESSIONS? TAKE OUR SURVEY
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We then celebrated the incredible achievements of the athletes with our Sporting Champions Awards. We would love to congratulate all the shortlisted athletes and winners of the awards.
The winners were as follows:
Regional Champion of the Year for the East Region – Jaden Leo
Regional Champion of the Year for the South East Region – Jeantique Hommel
Regional Champion of the Year for the West Region – Freddie Sunderland
Everyone Active Team of the Year – Westway Sports and Fitness Centre
Social Media Champion of the Year – Felicia Miloro
Young Champion of the Year – Zachary Callinan
ATCH W
D EO I V
National Champion of the Year – Ondine Achampong
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what’s to come this year
With the Olympics and Paralympics quickly approaching, 2024 is going to be a very exciting year for the Sporting Champions scheme. We’ll be hosting three mentoring sessions in total as well as another awards ceremony later on in the year and plenty of open days and events along the way. We are also looking forward to cheering on our Elite athletes and some of our Sporting Champions at the Olympics and Paralympics!
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social media We love following your achievements through social media! In the run up to the Olympics and Paralympics, we will be sending themes for Sporting Champions to post their content around and highlighting all the great achievements of our athletes. •
Please tag @easportingchamps, @everyoneactive and your local Everyone Active centre
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Please use #SportingChampions #EveryoneActive #EveryoneCanBeaChampion
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We’re more than happy to collaborate on content with you throughout the year, so please don’t forget to add us as a collaborator so we can share your content on our channels too
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Utilise popular hashtags such as #MondayMotivation #WednesdayWisdom #TransformationTuesday #WinnerWednesday #TuesdayTips #WednesdayWorkout #FridayFeeling
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Use relevant hashtags to your sport e.g. #Gymnastics #Sprinting
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If you’re competing at an event, make sure to utilise any hashtags they’re using or tag the event if possible
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Utilise national days/weeks/months such as Mental Health Awareness Month throughout the year for content ideas
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Engaging with content – liking, commenting and resharing content from other athletes can go a long way to building your social media profile. Make sure you are following your team-mates, other athletes, and national and international Federations. Also, make sure that you respond to messages either with a like or a response.
testimonials ERYKAH-MONAE LILY QUARTEY AGE 12, ATHLETIC SPRINTER AND SHOTPUT “My absolute highlight of the Sporting Champions scheme is the mentoring days with Elite athletes and industry professionals. From this, I gained so much knowledge and have been using some of their tips and advice to make me a better athlete both physically and mentally. I hope to be a part of this scheme for many years to come and one day become an Elite athlete myself.”
BROCK WHISTON PARA SWIMMER “Being a part of the Sporting Champions scheme means that I don’t have to stress about where I am going to train so that I can focus on what I have to do to achieve my goals. Having access to the great facilities at Everyone Active centres, including both the 25 metre and 50 metre pools, is so important for me leading up to the Paralympics this year.”
ALICE ROBINSON HEPTATHLETE “I feel super grateful to be a part of the Sporting Champions scheme and to be able to use such good quality facilities whenever I want to, building strength and power in the gym, and taking it a bit more steady to recover in the pool. Everyone Active run lots of the tracks that I race at so it’s also been amazing to be able to go inside to warm up, stretch and recover whilst at competitions too. Since being part of the scheme I’ve improved across the board, which I’m putting down to all the hard work I’ve been putting in at my local Everyone Active centres!”
© Everyone Active 2024