35 young sports stars win £14,000 awards pay-out

Young sports stars from South Norfolk have been given a £14,000 boost to help pay their expenses.

The 35 young people aged between 9 and 18 will share the money after winning South Norfolk Council's 2007 Community Sports Achiever Awards. Some of them could soon be competing for places in the 2012 Olympics

Cheques, certificates and goodie bags will be presented at a special awards night event at Caistor Hall Hotel next Tuesday (20 March).

In return, all the young people have pledged to encourage sport in their community by being trainers and mentors for the sports stars who will follow them.

Cllr Jane Walker who leads for the council on leisure, culture and the countryside - which includes sport - said:

"This will be a night to remember for young people and their parents who often struggle to give them the best chance to succeed in their sport.

"Without support, many of our talented youngsters would never achieve their potential and dreams of winning. We are fully behind them which is why we are contributing to the high costs of becoming a top class athlete.”

The awards will be given to county, regional and national sports stars from South Norfolk. The sports covered include athletics, tennis, water skiing, cricket, skateboarding, triathlon, motocross, golf, cycling, swimming, hockey, archery and rugby.

Every applicant had to have a reference, and all these have come from the sports' recognised bodies.

The Sport Achievers Awards night kicks off at 6pm at Caistor Hall Hotel, St Edmund on Tuesday 20 March.

THE AWARDS are the latest example of the council's growing commitment to sport and activity, following it's high profile launch of the South Norfolk Leisure Culture and Countryside Strategy last year.

Last week, over 40 representatives met to discuss setting up a Community Sports Network. That network, covering an area of 115,000 people, now looks certain after the packed Caistor Hall meeting backed the plans by South Norfolk Council, Sport England and Active Norfolk.

Cllr Walker added:

"We've fired the starting gun on a resurgence of sport in Norfolk. The community sports network will bind together organisations as diverse as Harleston Magpies Hockey Club, South Norfolk Primary Care Trust, Easton College and South Norfolk Older People's Forum. Now we are all pulling in the same direction to achieve common goals for our community."

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