Athletes get share of £105k under support scheme

Aaron Canavan, the 2018 World Seniors Snooker champion, was one of the 23 athletes to be awarded £4,565 under the new scheme

Twenty-three elite athletes have each received an equal share of £105,000 under a new Jersey Sport scheme aimed at supporting local sportspeople to fulfil their potential.

The government funding will support athletes competing in 13 sports, including athletics, snooker, and swimming.

To be eligible, applicants had to already have competed internationally, or to "have the potential to perform at a world class level".

In total, the government has allocated Jersey Sport £120,000 for the project. Jersey Sport has made £105,000 available to athletes and used £15,000 to set up the scheme and provide services such as mental health support and physiotherapy.

'Blown away'

Elliot Powell, the head of Sport and Community at Jersey Sport, hoped the Performance Sport Programme would help to fund a range of athletes' expenses, including travel, kit, and competition entries.

"Whatever they deem as their most urgent need and request, that's where that money is going," he said.

Jersey Sport received 94 expressions of interest in the programme, and Mr Powell said that he was "blown away" by the level of talent.

"Clearly our biggest financial barrier is always going to be the cost of travel," he said.

"But it was quite pleasing, in a way, to read quite common themes around nutrition support, sports psychology, strength and conditioning, media training – all those types of things that we know are required on island."

Rebecca Orpin, the chair of the Jersey Spartan Athletic Club, described the eligibility criteria as "very, very tough"

Aaron Canavan, the 2018 World Seniors Snooker champion and one of the athletes awarded a £4,565 grant, said travel and competition costs had put his participation in this year's tournament in doubt.

He said that he had been forced to miss two qualifying events "purely because the costs were too much".

"There's so much more to consider when you live in Jersey to compete in the UK - working extra shifts at work to cover the costs when you should be practising," he said.

To be eligible for funding, athletes had either to have been born in Jersey or to have been resident in the island for the preceding two years.

Those who were living overseas, but would otherwise have been eligible under those terms, were also able to apply.

Applicants also had to meet one of three additional eligibility criteria.

Nathan Jegou, the head Coach of Calligo Tigers Swimming Club, welcomed the scheme

The chair of the Jersey Spartan Athletic Club, Rebecca Orpin, praised the programme's aims, but said the eligibility criteria was "very, very tough".

"The lower levels are more for development athletes," she said.

"We're targeting that, and we've had a few people that we put in."

But, Calligo Tigers Swimming Club head coach, Nathan Jegou, thought that it was right to focus on the island's most high-achieving athletes.

'Not a one off'

He asked: "When was the last time we had an Olympian?

"When was the last time we had a Commonwealth Games medal winner?

"In swimming, we've had two individual finals at the last two games.

"I've said before that shouldn't just be a one off. We want that to be a norm."

The next phase of the programme, which will focus on younger athletes, is due to begin in 2025.