SportsAid: Nurturing Tomorrow's British Sports Stars

Headquartered in London, England, SportsAid is a charity dedicated to helping the next generation of British sports stars by providing financial support and recognition during the critical early years of their careers. SportsAid Awards, which are funded by the charity's partners, donors, and fundraisers, are given to aspiring athletes typically aged 12 to 18. Recognizing their achievements and potential before anyone else, SportsAid Awards help them train harder and compete more effectively so they can move on to the senior and/or international levels of their sport. Many then go on to become Olympians and Paralympians.

Competing at the national and international levels requires a tremendous amount of physical, mental, and financial commitment. Young athletes usually train for more than 15 hours a week on top of school, travel 650 miles per month to train and compete, and spend over £6,400 annually on their sport. At this early stage of an athlete's career, it can be difficult to land sponsorship deals, so most rely on their family and SportsAid for financial support. SportsAid assists talented able and disabled athletes in reaching their goals by helping them meet essential costs such as travel, training, accommodation, equipment, and competition fees.

To ensure the right people get the right help at the right time, SportsAid works with the governing bodies of 75 sporting disciplines, including summer, winter, Olympic, Paralympic, and other sports. These governing bodies nominate athletes to SportsAid, which then looks for appropriate donors to fund their awards. About 2,000 athletes receive this support each year.

Since its inception in 1976, SportsAid has contributed more than £50 million to the future of British sport. Some of the most successful athletes who have been helped by the charity include Chris Hoy, Kelly Holmes, David Weir, Rebecca Adlington, and Jessica Ennis. At the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, nearly two-thirds of the British team were former and current SportsAid athletes. They won 20 Olympic and 27 Paralympic gold medals between them.