05 September 2011. The Jaguar Academy of Sport Rising Stars have made some great progress within their respective sports over the past month, as the athletes continue to receive support through the Jaguar Academy of Sport Bursary and Mentoring and Education Programme.
Gymnast from Liverpool, Frank Baines recently competed in the European Youth Olympic Festival in Turkey where he won Gold in the Parallel Bars and Silver in the Floor. His next competition will be the British Championships in September. He will then travel to Japan to compete in a Junior Competition at the end of September.
Emily Bates, a table tennis player from Lincolnshire, is one of sixteen players to be included in the 'Long List' that has been produced by the British Table Tennis Federation as the first steps toward Olympic selection. This will allow Emily to travel with the Senior GB team across Europe, helping her to improve her game and teaching her vital skills necessary to help her progress in her sporting career.
Swimmer, Jack Burnell from Lincoln, has recently relocated to Loughborough so that he can be based at the Intensive Training Centre at Loughborough University, which has great facilities to help with his progression. Jack recently swam in the British Gas National Championships and won the 1,500m freestyle event, crowning him National Champion.
Surrey born shooter, Sheree Cox, recently finished 3rd in the Senior Ladies British competition. She has also been selected to shoot in the Commonwealth Shooting Championship for England.
Another Jaguar Academy of Sport shooter, Coral Kennerley of Ceredigion, competed in the Junior Internationals at Bisley and had a highly successful competition, coming away with one Gold and two Silver medals. Her next big competition is the Commonwealth Shooting Federation, European Division Championships also held at Bisley.
Hertfordshire all round cricketer, Raveena Lakhtaria, was lucky enough to have the opportunity to net with one of the greatest batsmen in Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Raveena was provided with some great tips and advice by one of her cricketing heroes.
Para‑cyclist, Crystal Lane from Exeter, travelled to Italy with the full GB Para‑Cycling squad for a P1 event. Crystal competed in the road race and time‑trial and won both races. Crystal was also included in the pre‑Paralympics camp, which was being held in Bath and was then selected to race in the Para‑Cycling Road World Championships in Denmark, which take place from 8 ‑ 11 September.
Kelsey MacDonald, a talented golfer from Nairn, competed in the U21 Scottish Ladies Open, which was held in Cardross. Kelsey played three rounds; the first provided a score of 75, one over par, for the other two Kelsey went round in 70, four under par. This meant Kelsey won by 6 shots and maintained her champion title for the fourth year in a row.
Basketball player Leah McDerment from Cheshire is currently training hard with the National Squad. Despite still being a year younger than the usual Senior selection age, Leah was once again selected to represent England in the European Championships held in Arad, Romania. Leah and the team made Basketball history by being promoted to Division A and finishing in Silver medal position, just losing out on Gold in a thrilling final against Germany by only three points. This is a great promotion as it means the team will play against the top teams in Europe. On a personal performance, Leah was ranked fourth in the competition and made the starting five for every game. September sees the start of the domestic league, where Leah hopes to secure a place with the Under 18 and Senior Women's Manchester Mystics team.
Cameron Milne, a triathlete from Kinross, has been competing in various triathlons including the National Junior Elite Triathlon Championships held at Blenheim Palace. This proved a very successful competition for Cameron finishing as the 2nd Junior and 8th overall. This is a great achievement as he raced against a strong field which included Olympian and former World Champion Tim Don. Cameron is soon to compete in the Hetton Lyons Junior race in Sunderland.
Cross Country skier, Andrew Musgrave, is currently based in Lillehammer, Norway where he is training with Team Hovden. In mid September, Andrew will be heading to Val Senales, Italy with the British Team for a 10‑day altitude camp, before the race season starts in mid November with FIS level races in Beitostølen.
Craig Rodgie, para‑swimmer from Fife, swam in the German Open Disability Swimming Championships where he won Gold and set a new British Record for the 50m backstroke of 31.26 seconds. Craig was also successful at the European Championships, recording a new personal best and a Scottish Record in the 200m freestyle. Craig came away from the ASA Championships (Multi Disability) in Sheffield with a Silver medal in the 200m freestyle and a Bronze medal in the 100m backstroke, yet again recording a personal best and a Scottish Record. After these promising performances, Craig has been selected to travel to Arizona for a training camp in preparation for the Paralympic Trials.
Ali Slater, Rising Star cyclist from Lincolnshire has competed in various competitions throughout the UK and abroad. He was the first Brit to cross the line at a four day UCI Juniors international club race held in Belgium. At the Bath Junior Road Race, Ali finished 3rd out of approximately 80 starters and extended his lead in the series. Again, racing in Belgium but in the Reningelst Juniors, Ali finished 2nd out of 102 starters and was the first British rider.
Leeds para‑sprinter, Louis Speight, has set a new European Men's record in the 100m with a time of 18.73 just 0.3 seconds outside the world record ‑ a standard qualifying time for 2012. Louis has also recorded a new European record in the 800m of 2.29, a record by over 1.5 seconds and one of the fastest times in the world this year.
Successful young golfer from West Sussex Toby Tree, has recently competed for England in the Boys Home Internationals at Royal St Davids in Wales. He was playing as part of a 10‑man squad, which won the competition. Toby made up one of the 9‑man GB&I squad who played in the Jacques Leglise Trophy held in Spain. The team won the trophy with an impressive 14.5 ‑ 9.5 victory over the holders, Continent of Europe.
Badminton player, Rhys Walker from Nuneaton, has been selected to represent the England badminton team at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, which start on 7 September. Rhys, who is currently the top ranked under‑17 badminton player in the country, has won the National Singles title for the past four years.
James Wilkinson of Leeds, has competed in the U23 British Athletics Championships and European Trials where he won the 3000m steeplechase. He also achieved a personal best of 8 minutes 42 seconds again in the 3000m steeplechase at the AVIVA UK World Trials and Senior Championships.
Our 2010 Rising Stars have also progressed brilliantly within their respective sports.
Surrey trampolinist Sophie Lewis, came 6th in her first senior competition, the British Open. At this competition she also achieved some all‑time personal bests in the qualifying round.
St Helen's born Judo player, Owen Livesey, has competed in the British Open Championships and won four fights and lost two, meaning he finished in 7th place. This was a great result for Owen as it is his first year of moving from Junior to Senior competitions. He has also been at training camps in both Spain and Slovenia, as well as competing in European Cups in Slovenia, Germany and Istanbul. These competitions have provided a great platform for him to prepare for his two most important competitions of the year, the GB World Cup and the Under 23 European Championships.
Sam Lowe, cyclist from Derby, has recently returned from the European Junior Track Championships in Portugal in which he won Gold in the Team Pursuit and Bronze in the 10km Scratch Race. He has also been selected to compete in a 4‑day stage race in Germany, as well as the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, which will be held later this month in Douglas, Isle of Man.
Boxer Jeff Saunders from Cleveland is currently training hard and also teaching younger boxers at his local gym. His most recent major achievement was beating Chubby Asif who is on the development squad for England.
Over the last month the Rising Stars have performed fantastically in their various competitions and the Jaguar Academy of Sport looks forward to keeping up with their progress and achievements.
‑ ENDS ‑
Notes to Editors
Website: www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk
For further information about Jaguar Academy of Sport please contact:
Carla McAlpine : E: carla@influenceltd.com , T: 0207 2879610
About The Jaguar Academy of Sport
The Jaguar Academy of Sport, launched in March 2010, recognises, celebrates and inspires the very best of British sporting talent and success. It will fulfill this aim through a Bursary Fund, which will support new British sporting talent, as well as a prestigious annual Awards Ceremony. The Academy is a unique club of the best of British sport, which will be used to inspire the next generation. For more information visit www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk
Jaguar Academy of Sport Patrons
David Beckham OBE, Sir Ian Botham, Gareth Edwards CBE, Dame Kelly Holmes DBE, MBE, Denise Lewis OBE, Sir Steve Redgrave
Jaguar Academy of Sport Ambassadors
Jamie Baulch, Dave Brailsford CBE, Martin Brundle, Tasha Danvers, Jessica Ennis, Mark Foster, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard MBE, Tim Henman, Sir Chris Hoy, Colin Jackson CBE, Barry McGuigan, Ian Poulter, David Roberts CBE, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughn OBE, Lee Westwood, Shane Williams