Rising stars in Daventry District backed by sports talent development programme

Talented athletes in the Daventry area are set to gain much-needed support as part of a sports talent development programme.

Now in its sixth year, Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme will provide more than 1,000 up-and-coming athletes with free access to more than 200 leisure facilities across the country, including a number of athletes from the Daventry area.

Local athletes accepted on the scheme this year include swimmer Edward Mildred, a three-times Youth Olympics gold medallist, and karting’s Bradley Sheppard, a former British Open champion.

Alongside free access to Everyone Active centres Sporting Champions will also get the chance to receive valuable mentoring and guidance from some of the UK’s most influential sports stars.

Olympic silver medallist Colin Jackson will continue to support the scheme through his role as an Ambassador. He will be working alongside a newly-appointed panel of Elite athletes to make sport more accessible within local communities.

The impressive line-up of Elite athletes features Olympians and Paralympians including Northampton Swim Club’s Maisie Summers-Newton, who swims out of the Moulton pool, as well as Lutalo Muhammad, Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova, Richard Kilty, Lauren Steadman and Kadeena Cox, whose experience and expertise will help to support athletes through one-to-one and group mentoring sessions.

Colin said: “I’m incredibly proud to be involved in a scheme that is so dedicated to supporting athletic talent from grass roots up.

“This year, I’ll be working alongside some truly talented Elite athletes to help rising sports stars reach their goals.

“The Sporting Champions scheme has helped thousands of up-and-coming athletes to achieve their sporting dreams and I can’t wait to see what this year’s intake go on to achieve.”

Sporting Champions will also receive free unlimited access to the Everyone on Demand app, providing them with more than 500,000 at-home workouts from leading fitness brands, including WithU, Flex and Les Mills on Demand.

Jamie Brightwell, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme has been very successful in providing exceptional support to emerging talent and we are delighted to be once again supporting athletes from Daventry on their journey to success.

“It’s fantastic to see how the scheme has expanded over the years, now providing more than 1,000 athletes nationwide with access to top-quality training facilities and support.”