Thirty eight young athletes from 17 different sports are to receive awards from the Team Scotland Youth Trust Return to Sport Fund, a one off programme in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 to assist athletes in their return to training and competition.

Due to the disruption COVID-19 has caused within the sporting world, many promising, young athletes have lost opportunities to train, compete, and progress their careers in 2020 and 2021. Continuing its support of the nation’s young sporting talent, the Team Scotland Youth Trust (TSYT) aims to help young athletes in their return to training and competition by contributing towards additional costs an athlete may incur due to COVID-19, not already supported by other grants or awards.

The Return to Sport Fund provides a financial award up to the value of £1,000, as well as representing a statement of confidence and belief in the athlete as an individual as they prepare for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games and other major international events.

Three recipients have previously competed for Team Scotland: wrestler Ross Connelly and gymnast Shannon Archer at Gold Coast 2018 and long jumper Calum Henderson at the Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Delighted to receive an award Ross said: “Due to the financial impact the pandemic had on businesses, I lost the support of two sponsors.  This award will assist greatly in allowing me to return to international training camps and competitions and working towards Birmingham 2022. Thank you for the support.”

The need for such support was demonstrated by the overwhelming number of applications received and the TSYT look forward to extending support to more young athletes when applications open for the PHM Athlete Awards in November.

Recipients