More than 100 of the county’s most talented athletes are to share £21,000 in Nottinghamshire County Council funding to help them fulfill their sporting ambitions.

The council’s Communities and Place Committee has approved grants of up to £400 to help with expenses like travel, coaching, competition fees and kit for some of the area’s brightest sporting stars.

The Local Improvement Scheme – Talented Athlete Scheme funding is awarded annually. This year, the council received applications for more than £49,000 in funding — more than double the amount available and a 38% increase on last year.

To ensure that all 118 Nottinghamshire applicants received some level of support, each application was scored and ranked after a rigorous assessment by Active Notts and the council’s communities team.

To qualify for the funding, athletes must have competed in a Sport England recognised sport with a national governing body and represented their country within the last 12 months, or be ranked in the top five of their age group.

The depth and diversity of sporting talent in the county is shown by the 40 different sports that funded athletes participate in. Successful applicants include four para-athletes and 52 aged 16 or under
Canoeing, athletics, ice skating and swimming figure prominently, with lower-profile sports such as handball, climbing, inline roller hockey and water polo also included.

Successful applications were received from every district of the county.

Coun John Handley, vice-chairman of the Communities and Place Committee, said: “The volume and high standard of applications for Talented Athlete funding demonstrates that Nottinghamshire’s reputation as ‘the sporting county’ is well-founded.

“Reaching an elite level in any sport requires a huge amount of talent, hard work and, in many cases, financial hardship and sacrifice for the athlete and their family.”

Local sports stars to have previously received Talented Athlete funding from Nottinghamshire County Council include swimmers, Ollie Hynd and Charlotte Henshaw (pictured, now a paracanoeist).