New cohort of Sport Scholars given vital financial support

Wed 09 February, 2022

The University of Bedfordshire has awarded 18 students with Sports Scholarships for the 2021/22 academic year.

Promising athletes studying at Bedfordshire are awarded scholarships in three levels, ranging from ‘Talented’ to ‘Platinum’. Aimed at assisting the next generation of sportspeople, coaches and officials through their degrees, the financial support is worth up to £1,660 for the academic year across financial support, equipment and memberships.

Of the 18 scholarship recipients, seven students were granted Platinum scholarship, five Gold and six Talented. The University’s Bedford campus on Polhill Avenue will be home to the vast majority of the scholarship recipients and boasts exceptional Sports Science labs, multiple sports training fields, four Dance studios and a Physical Education and Sport Science Centre which was used to train athletes in the 2012 Olympics.

Bedford Campus based	Luton Campus based	Aylesbury Campus based
16	1	1

Male	Female
8	10

Undergraduates	Postgraduates
16	2

Talented	Gold	Platinum
6	5	7

Gold and Platinum level scholars are entitled to either £500 or £1,000 of direct financial support, while all scholars enjoy equipment reimbursement, gym memberships, kits and Sport Science support through the University’s specialist labs.

Students must meet a number of criteria in order to be eligible for a Sports Scholarship, including being of a regional, county, national or international standard – or having played in a British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) fixture in the last 12 months.

Stephen Pitt, Head of Sport Partnerships at the University of Bedfordshire Sport, expressed his pleasure at being able to support another cohort of talented scholars through their studies. He said:

“This year the Sports Scholarship panel were presented with a large selection of high quality applications and I am delighted to be able to offer financial support to so many of them. During this challenging time it is very important to support our student athletes and by offering this scholarship package hopefully this will allow these athletes to continue training and competing to the best of their abilities and be ambassadors for student sport at the University.

“It is great to see our scholars competing at national and international events, making a real name for themselves outside the local area. For instance Jade, who is one of our Platinum scholars, has been competing and winning at the highest level. I am incredibly pleased that young athletes such as these are part of our scholarship programme.”

To hear from a selection of this year’s scholars, click on their names below:

“I began Taekwondo at the age of eight after trying out almost every other sport possible in my local area, and finding a passion for it immediately. I have since competed constantly (with the exception of the pandemic) both nationally and internationally. My biggest achievement to this date is a silver medal at the 2019 European Championships in Rimini.

“I am really pleased and grateful to have received the sport scholarship from the University. It will help massively with my training and competition commitments, particularly due to the lack of government funding that ITF style Taekwondo receives at present. In return, I will compete in any of the BUCS championship series competitions that I am able to, to earn some points for the University.

“My future ambitions in Taekwondo are to better my previous international competition results; my first opportunity to do this being at the next European Championships in Croatia in March this year.”

“I started watching my eldest brother play rugby when I was six, so when my Mum helped set up a girl’s side at Dunstablians RUFC I joined and trained with all my might, despite being far too young to compete. After moving through the age ranks at Bedford Blues (where Mum helped create a junior girls side), Ampthill RUFC and England Deaf Rugby Union (EDRU) I made my debut for the national side when I was 18 and have been a part of the team ever since.

“Getting that first international cap against Wales was a memory I will never forget – although we are deaf or hard of hearing, the feeling doesn’t change when you putt on that jersey and wear the rose. The ability in our side doesn’t get the publicity it deserves for the progression it’s making for women’s rugby; being at the start of something so amazing and knowing you’re being watched really drives you to play your heart out.

“It is incredibly humbling to have received the sports scholarship, in my own eyes I am still the same rugby player I have always been and that will stay that way until the end of time. The opportunities provided are second to none and all of the benefits that come with the scholarship will allow me to enhance my performance both in the University and my current club, Buckingham RUFC.

“Within the near or far future I hope to continue spreading the word about how amazing sport is and rugby specifically, getting more girls and women involved in a team sport and forever growing the family. I want to be a role model for anyone that wants to take part in rugby and to continue defying the odds that are put in female rugby players’ way. Educating people and developing rugby is the common goal within all of this. As a personal goal, I aspire to be the best I can possibly be through the good and the bad. Continue to improve in the sport and never give up!”

“At the age of 13, a friend introduced me to weight lifting and I've been followed the discipline since by becoming interested in the careers of several Olympic lifters. This led me to wonder whether I could compete at a high level. Since starting I have represented Nigeria and clubs in Spain.

“This has taken me to many interesting places and exciting achievements; my favourite accomplishment so far is winning a gold medal at the Afro-Asian Games in 2003.

“I'm overjoyed to have been awarded a sport scholarship because it will encourage me to improve my training in preparation for the 2022 World Championships in which I hope to represent the United Kingdom.”

“Getting into coaching started when I was 16 and a classmate of mine asked me to join his local football team. We were just a group of 16-year-olds with no coach playing competitive football until one day we decided to have a training session after a poor run of results. I had decided to lead that session and soon realised that I was much better at coaching than I was at playing! That’s not to say I was a bad player, I just realised had a knack for coaching that day. Ten years on, I’m still doing what I do best and that’s getting the best out of players.

“I was over the moon and so was my family upon discovering that I had been awarded the scholarship. The scholarship for me meant that all the hard work leading up to that day (and more) had recognition. The award itself puts me on the map and opens many more doors for a coach like myself. Support from the scholarship will go towards helping me get the best out of my coaching abilities along with the players and individuals I coach on a day-to-day basis.

“I have never hidden the fact that I wish to become an elite coach, coaching some of the best clubs around the world, but my true dream would be to coach my birth country club, Sporting Clube de Portugal. Until then, I will continue to climb up the footballing pyramid and hope to leave a lasting legacy in history like many coaches before me.”

Platinum

Jade Doran - Taekwondo

Sian Mills – Rugby Union

Dare Branham Alabi Seriki - Weightlifting

Charlotte Boston – Table Tennis

Amy Woodroofe – Duathlon/Triathlon

Bailey Thomas – Rugby Union

Amy Magnus – Futsal

Gold

Joseph Gilkes – Triple Jump

Ellie Scott – Hockey

Freya Green – Hockey