City athletes pick up ICON bursaries at Derby Arena

Wed 25 Mar 2015

The inspiring ICON event took place on Wednesday 25 March, where some of the most promising sports performers in Derby City were handed a share of £3,650 in grants from business network ICON to help them chase their dreams. The chosen 23 athletes were selected to receive a grant of up to £250 each, which they can use to cover costs such as travel, equipment, coaching fees or competition related expenses.

All of the athletes are tipped for further success in their respective sports, and are either already competing for England or Great Britain or are part of recognised national development squads or club academy structures. Each athlete will also be given free use of Derby City Council’s leisure facilities during 2015, which will further help with their training and development.

Badminton quartet Sophie Brealey, David Hong, Josh Hong and Tiara Samuel, swimmers Eleanor Baldwin, Kane Haggett and Sarah Vasey, ice skaters Ellie O’Connell and Genevieve Somerville, tennis players Jay Clarke and Ceire Mullins, athletes Yasmin Miller and Daniel Haymes, and karate players Leon Bentley and Josh Wade have all received ICON backing. Also selected for a bursary are equestrian rider Matthew Dalley, dodgeball player Alex Harrison, triathlete Barclay Izzard, rower Yasmin Marks, golfer Bradley Moore, footballer Bethany Naqwi, mountaineer Sarah Pashley and cricketer Hamidullah Qadri.

Cllr Shiraz Khan, Mayor of the City of Derby, Cllr Alison Martin, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, and Ilana Freestone, Director of Derbyshire Sport, which runs the ICON programme, met a number of the athletes to congratulate them during the presentation at Derby Arena last night.

Cllr Martin said:

“It’s tremendous to see so many young athletes from the City of Derby excelling in their chosen sports and this underlines just how much top-class sporting talent we have right on our doorstep. We all took great delight in the great success of our sporting stars at the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, including medal success for former ICON recipient and City of Derby Swimming Club member Adam Peaty and the hope is that, using this support, there are athletes among this current crop who can emulate him by reaching the very top.”

Derby City Council is among 10 local authorities across the county who are members of business network ICON, which was set up by Derbyshire Sport as part of the work to create a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympics in Derbyshire.

ICON members, who were in attendance at the event, included Derby County FC, Derbyshire CCC, the Lonsdale Swimming and Sports Trust and Technogym. They have each contributed an annual membership fee, and this money goes directly to athletes through the bursary scheme.

We would like to congratulate all athletes and wish them all the best for their future!