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Lottery awards support talented young athletes

Tuesday 22 May 2001

Continuing its programme of investing in the potential stars of tomorrow, sportscotland announced the latest round of Junior Groups Awards today, totalling over £180,000.

The six sports receiving the awards are:

  • £40,000 to the Scottish Hockey Union

Brent Deans, the Performance Manager, said: "With 80 athletes involved in the project this funding is very welcome, and will give huge benefits to the athletes."  The Youth Performance Programme can now introduce extra coaching sessions for longer periods of time at higher quality facilities in Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverclyde. The U16 and U18 national squads will also train overseas in preparation for the European Youth trophy held between the 10-15 July 2001 in Hamburg. Scotland have set themselves the target of finishing in the top two.

  • £40,000 to the Scottish Cricket Union

The award will be used to continue to coach and prepare the national junior team for various fixtures. The U13 Youth Squad are competing in Holland, the U15 are playing in Ireland and the U17 will be defending their European Champions title in Denmark: all of these groups are hoping to finish in the top two in the ECB European championships. The U19 are also competing in Edinburgh (27 July-1 August) to qualify for the Youth World Cup in New Zealand in 2002. David Potter, the Operations Manager for SCU, said: "The award will help Scotland to produce better cricketers as it enables us to attend fixtures against a better standard of opposition."

  • £40,000 to the Scottish Athletics Federation International Potential Programme.

David Joy, the Chief Executive of Scottish Athletics, said: "The funding will provide opportunities for the talented U20/U23 squad to have access to high level training and competition situations. A busy few years lie ahead for our young athletes so all help is appreciated."  Preparations are underway for the 2002 World Junior Championships in Jamaica (July 17-22), the Commonwealth Games in Manchester (July 26-31) 2002 and the U20/U23 European championships in Munich (Aug 6-11).

  • £30,895 to the Scottish Cyclists Union.

The money will be used to support and encourage progression from Scottish through to British level. The Union hopes the increased fitness testing and training programmes, made possible by the funding, will enhance the chances of more Scots representing Great Britain at international level.

  • £23,333 to the Scottish Football Association U16 Youth Team.

The U16 squad has been benefiting from Lottery funding since 97/98. The Association will use the award to enhance Scotland's U16 National Squad’s preparation programme. The training has included personal development programmes such as diet and nutrition, media training and financial advice. Following a season which saw Scotland qualify for the European finals, the season will be wrapped up in June with a two-day analysis and debriefing session with a video technician, made possible by the award.

Mr Ross Mathie, the Assistant Director of Football Development, said: "We are delighted that for the first time we have managed to qualify for the finals of the European Championships. Without the Lottery's help, we could not employ the video technician, which has been an absolute boon for us. It has helped the U16s progress in leaps and bounds. Now we are in the fourth year of funding we are reaping the rewards."

  • £14,370 to the Scottish Orienteering Association.

Mr Ken Hall, Squad Co-ordinator, said: "We are delighted that the sportscotland Lottery Fund has decided to fund our activities for another year. Thanks to their support, we can benefit from better accommodation, travel arrangements and training facilities, enabling us to train and compete throughout the country and abroad to develop the potential of our young athletes."

Scottish orienteers are focusing on competing in the Great Britain Junior team who are attending this year’s Junior World Championships in Hungary from 9-15 July. The Junior Home Internationals are 6 and 7 October in South Wales and the Junior Inter-regional Championships are scheduled for the 5 and 6 November in Cumbria.

Ian Robson, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: "These Junior Groups awards reflect the range of sporting talent that exists in Scotland. With the support of lottery funding, the athletes can concentrate on reaching their full potential and go on to represent their country at the highest level."