Outstanding grant took achievers to Arizona!

With help from South Norfolk Council’s Outstanding Achievers Awards, two young speedway cyclists have just come back from a trip to Arizona, USA, where they took part in a promotional tour for the sport.

Jazz Abbott, 12, and 15 year old Nicholas Myhill both from Hethersett, are members of the Hethersett Hawks and the Great Britain team.

JAZZ Jazz first started cycle speedwayfor the Hethersett Hawks when he was just 8 years old. Sarah Abbot, his mother says: “Jazz gets a real buzz from this sport. He enjoys the competitiveness, the speed and the excitement.”

Some of Jazz’s achievements:

2002 & 2003 Norfolk Under 13 Championships 2002 & 2003 Norwich and District Grand Prix Under 13 winner 2003 Cusack British Youth and Junior League 3rd place 2003 Captain Under 13 Team Championships 2003 East Anglian Grand Prix 2nd place

He also rides in the Hethersett 'B' Team for the South East Division 2 league, which Hethersett won last year. He trains every Tuesday and in the height of the season races on a Wednesday (local Grand Prix), Saturday (Junior League or East Anglian Grand Prix) and Sunday (South East division 2 league).

Arizona: The trip to Arizona was an inaugural trip to open the first European cycle speedway track in the USA. More than 600 people turned up to watch the opening events.

Sarah says: “The trip was by an application process and the kids were picked by their behaviour on and off the track and their ability to relate to other people. It was the first time Jazz had been on a plane. “

NICK

Nick started cycle speedway in 1998. His mother Barbara Myhill explains: “He was watching club training one night, and they asked if he wanted to try it. He really enjoyed this new sport and started to go every week.”

Nick has achieved so much: As an individual competitor, he has won numerous events in East Anglia, including finishing on the podium at three British Individual Events over the last 5 years. In 2003 he was 3rd in the Under 16 British Individual Championships. He has taken part in competitions in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

He trains every Tuesday night at the track on Hethersett Recreation Ground.

Barbara says participating in this event “has built Nick's confidence and taught him how to work as part of a team. During the speedway season he travels all over the country to take part in competitions. And I never hear those dreaded words "I'm bored, Mum."

Nick says speedway keeps him fit and has helped him to develop as a team member:

“I like to keep fit and this sport definitely does that. It's a good feeling being part of a team, encouraging each other to win that much needed race, you also share the down moments when things don't go quite so well. The individual competitions are very rewarding. I have won over 90 trophies and medals so far.”

Arizona: Barbara says: “Nick and Jazz were part of an Under 16 and Under 14 squad, invited to travel to the states to promote cycle speedway there. They took part in a test match between GB and USA.”

She says Nick enjoyed the trip very much. “He swapped racing techniques with the Americans and made new friends. The team formed a strong bond and although most of them were relative strangers at the beginning of the tour, by the end of the week they were all the best of friends!”

Nick’s future ambitions: He wants to “ … carry on in speedway, and when I leave school I want to attend college and take a course in Fitness and Leisure. I intend to continue racing for the local club and my main aim is to become a British Champion and be chosen to represent Great Britain again in four years time, as a senior.

What their mothers said about the Outstanding Achievers Award:

Sarah Abbot, said:

”The Outstanding Achiever Award allowed Jazz to go on this trip, without this he wouldn't have been able to go as I certainly couldn't have afforded to send him. It has given him the opportunity to take part in the sport that he loves and also to visit another country. It’s such a fantastic scheme I wish I'd known about it sooner.”

Barbara Myhill said that the award money helped pay for the flight/insurance and accommodation costs as well as a new helmet, gloves, and footwear, and added:

“It will also help towards a much needed bike frame as Nick has almost grown out of his present one. As with most sports it can be very expensive when you take it passed the hobby stage. When your child gets as much out of a sport as Nick does then you have to support them as much as possible. The award has gone a long way to relieving the financial burden, especially as he has been chosen to race for Great Britain Under 18 Squad in Australia next year as well.”

South Norfolk Council Chairman Mrs Vera Alexander says she hopes the boys’ achievements will encourage others to apply to the scheme:

“My theme this year is young people in sports and leisure, and this scheme offers awards to young people such as Jazz and Nicholas who have achieved so much in their sport. They should be congratulated and assisted where possible. It’s great to hear that their awards helped them to take their sport to another country. I hope their stories encourage other talented children, who have reached a high standard in sports or the performing arts such as music, dance or drama, to consider applying for an Outstanding Achievers Award.”

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