Sport Relief guru visits Ipswich to help future sports stars

The man who trained, motivated and successfully coached the likes of David Walliams, Eddie Izzard, John Bishop and many other household names, to complete extraordinary challenges in aid of Sport Relief and Comic Relief was in Ipswich on Friday 17^th March to help raise money for up and coming sportsmen and women from Suffolk.

Greg Whyte, who is also an Olympian (modern pentathlon), European and World Championship medalist and internationally renowned sports scientist, has helped raise over £45million for charity through the challenges.

He was in Ipswich to speak at the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club, hosted at Venue 16 in the town, where he entertained a large audience of local business leaders and professionals.

The purpose of the event was to raise funding to enable SportsAid to help more young sportsmen and women from the county with the cost of training and competing at an elite level. SportsAid’s research shows that before they become a household name, an elite sportsman or woman will spend 10,000 hours and thousands of pounds pursuing their dream. For many, SportsAid is their only means of support at a crucial time in their career before other sources of funding are available.

Whyte said, “It’s always a privilege to be able to help SportsAid because as someone who received their support as a young athlete, I know what a difference it makes. It’s not just about the funding though it’s also really motivating to be identified as having the potential to go on and represent your country at senior international level.”

The Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club was founded in January 2015 and is sponsored by six stand-out Suffolk businesses – Pound Gates Chartered Insurance Brokers, Ensors Chartered Accountants, Ellisons Solicitors, StrategiQ, Handelsbanken and Beckett Financial Services.

Sarah Smith, from StrategiQ, speaking on behalf of the sponsors, said “All the businesses involved in sponsoring the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club are proud to stand alongside SportsAid in supporting the next generation of young athletes from the county. It’s not easy reaching the top in any walk of life so if we can give a young athlete a helping hand we will. The payback is seeing them achieving their dreams and, hopefully, going on to inspire a generation.”

Regional Director of SportsAid Eastern Jane Horridge said “SportsAid is extremely grateful to each and every sponsor, and all the businesses that attended the event, for their generous support of young sportsmen and women from Suffolk. Without them we simply wouldn’t be able to help so many young people from the county.”

Greg Whyte also presented a SportsAid grant to Isaac Kingham, an aspiring table tennis player from Ipswich – one of the many young people to be supported by SportsAid with funding raised through the lunch club.  Isaac who is 14 years-old, is one of the best table tennis players in the country and has already represented England in a major tournament in Hungary. He said “it’s amazing to receive a grant from SportsAid. It will be a huge help with the cost of tournament entry fees and travelling across the country to compete. I will do my best to repay the faith that has been shown in me through this grant.”

To date SportsAid Suffolk has raised and distributed over £300,000 to support young people in the county.

The next lunch will take place in Autumn 2023. Any businesses wishing to attend should contact Sally Peck at sally@sportsaid.org.uk for information. More information about SportsAid can be found at www.sportsaideastern.co.uk.