Aspiring Athletes in York Invited to Apply for Sports Sponsorship
Photo: Jo Leatham
GLL, the charitable social enterprise that operates four Better leisure centres in the city, has announced the opening of its GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) awards 2025.
The largest athlete programme of its kind in the UK, the GSF awards provide a range of support including free gym membership, bursaries, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and advice on mental health and wellbeing. A total of £1.4m in bursaries and free gym memberships will be made available to communities up and down the country.
In 2024, 21 talented individuals from York secured awards through the programme, including Mark Harney. Mark is a multi-sport athlete who’s competed for Team GB at Age Group since 2013 and has been supported by the Foundation in York on a number of occasions. He has represented Team GB at Age Group at nine world and European events over 12 years, racing in countries such as Canada, Australia, Spain and Portugal. In May, he will compete in the 2025 European Aquathlon Championships in Pamplona, Spain within the 60-64 age category.
Mark explains:
I’ve been extremely fortunate to receive GSF sponsorship which supports my training endeavours. It gives me free access to Better fitness facilities, not just in York but nationwide should I need it. The awards are invaluable for amateur athletes who are invariably required to fund their own World, European and national travel expenses as well as investing in kit when the escalating cost of living crisis continues unabated. The state-of-the-art facilities at Better are second to none and I’m able to access a wide range of sessions such as swimming, aqua aerobics and pickleball which supports my overall fitness and training programme.
"In a bid to give something back, I volunteer regularly at the recently introduced Senior Sessions at Better leisure centres dedicated specifically for those 60-years plus which are designed to increase participation in movement and exercise through fitness classes like pickleball, badminton and table tennis. It’s a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and play sport within an inclusive environment.”
The announcement follows a recent survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of GSF that found providing funding and support to the next generation of athletes is seen as a major way to spread opportunities in local communities. Access to facilities and athlete health and wellbeing services is similarly key.
Supporting sport is seen as important by the people in Yorkshire and the Humber – 84% of those surveyed said taking part in competitive sports benefited young people’s physical health, discipline/focus (75%) and social/teamwork skills (65%). However, 57% of respondents cited a lack of finance / funds as one of the biggest barriers to young people taking part in competitive sport.
Meanwhile, a quarter say that a career in sport offers great opportunities to younger people from under privileged backgrounds. That’s ahead of public sector jobs like teaching (11%) and NHS (16%) – or private sector jobs like finance (13%) and IT (22%).
And 78% of survey respondents admitted the success of UK athletes, teams and sportspeople is also important to generating a sense of national pride.
Furthermore, younger people in the UK were more likely than older people to identify a career in sport as a way to make a living (30% of 18 to 24’s and 38% of 25 to 34’s versus just 22% of 55 to 64 year olds).
Natalie Thomas, GLL Community Sport Manager, said:
This programme provides us with the perfect platform to nurture a new wave of local sporting heroes from a range of age groups. We are committed to continuing to support athletes to achieve their goals and aspirations, widening and deepening the opportunities for local communities through sport. It’s always an honour to see the positive impact these awards have on local individuals and to promote the far-reaching benefits that sport offers.
The GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) was launched 17 years ago by leisure operator and charitable social enterprise GLL, with the aim of supporting talented athletes with funding and practical help.
The deadline for applications is 20th February 2025. For more information and an application form, please visit www.gllsportfoundation.org
*Research by Better via OnePoll. Survey of 2,000 UK Athletes 26th to 28th November 2024