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Cara Receives Scholarship to Play Football Overseas

Cara is one of our Youth Rising Programme participants who has recently received a scholarship to play football at Tennessee Wesleyan University in the United States. She has always had a dream to play overseas and has worked hard to achieve her goals!

From a young age, Cara has been passionate about playing football and has pursued her passion. Growing up, there weren’t many girls teams for her to join but she didn’t let that dissuade her and so she joined the boy’s teams. As she got older, more options opened up for her and she now plays for the semi-professional South African Women’s League.

Receiving a scholarship to play overseas means that she is one step closer to achieving her goal of becoming a professional football player. While this is great news, unfortunately, the scholarship does not cover all of the costs and we need help from United Through Sport supporters to cover the additional costs. Please donate to help Cara on her way to playing for a university team in the United States!

While Cara prepares to study and play overseas she is still actively involved in the United Through Sport Youth Rising Programme, receiving one-on-one mentorship and coaching younger football players from her area. She is focused on preparing herself to study and play overseas. We are excited to continue to support her on her pathway to success and your support will get her one step closer to reaching her goal!

 

 

UTS Caribbean Roll Out Marchand Swim Programme

St. Lucia is a beautiful island surrounded by clear blue sea however many of its inhabitants are unable to swim and drownings are not uncommon, particularly within the island’s underprivileged communities.

Our seven-week Marchand swim programme is designed to give the opportunity for young children from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn basic swimming techniques in open water as well as vital survival, and even lifesaving skills! Sessions are being run daily for up to 8 children at a time during and after school, with free transport to and from sessions provided for participants.

Lessons are being led by our swim coach Megan Holms; who is returning after previous placements with us in St. Lucia (2015) and our South Africa project (2016).  As an experienced and qualified lifeguard and swim coach Megan has been working hard to enhance our St. Lucia swim programme and expand our reach across the island.

UTS Run Free Summer Camps For Over 80 Children In St. Lucia

United Through Sport ran simultaneous netball and multi sports camps over the school holidays this summer providing childcare and sporting expertise for underprivileged families in St. Lucia.

Our girls netball camp was run on the Vigie sports complex with girls from Egrets, Bocage, Soufriere and St. Lucia U14s netball clubs, who had been attending our after school projects in the year. The girls were treated to a range of games, exercises and drills from our UK volunteer coaches and programme coordinator Sarah Mosley.  

The La Clery summer camp was a chance for children to sample a range of different sports including; Football, Basketball, Cricket, Rugby, Tennis, Athletics and Swimming. Attended by boys and girls from the La Clery community, Pioneers FC and our ongoing after school projects in Vide Boutielle, Marchand and Corinth, children were encouraged to find the sports they most enjoyed, and linked to our partner clubs to encourage adherence to the game.

The main focus of our camps were fun and inclusivity; Camps ran 4 days a week, food, transport, swimming lessons and one-on-one supervision was provided for those that needed it and our large volunteer numbers meant ability levels and age groups could be split during session. Meaning children from all backgrounds social backgrounds, age, ability and health got the opportunity to attend. United Through Sport was also able to donate playing shirts, boots and other sports equipment for camp attendees.

Highlights of the summer included; Fortnightly beach days and swimming lessons at Vigie beach, fun day on Splash island with Daren Sammy and the St. Lucia Stars cricket team, winners dinner at Coco Palms Hotel and our National youth Netball tournament.  

Spar Women’s Challenge 5k “Most Beautiful Race in the World”

37 of our Junior School of Excellence Girls ran the Spar Women’s 5k this year in Port Elizabeth. This is the second year in a row in which our Junior School of Excellence Girls have run in this event and was a small treat for our girls who have been performing so well both on the sports field and in the classroom.

An added bonus was seeing our South Africa Teaching Coordinator Romain getting his best frock on to join the ladies, as all men who wish to participate must do so in drag. Well done Romain!

One beneficiary of the day was the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities in Nelson Mandela Bay who were presented with a cheque for R250,000.

London Marathon run for United Through Sport

Will Hurl and Mark Cooling have completed the London Marathon in support of United Through Sport. Both completed the run in good times. Mark ran in 3 hours and 4 minutes, with Will not far behind in 3 hours and 30, both more than respectable times.

We would like to show our sincerest gratitude to these two men for their support. Furthermore, we would like to wish Will luck on his Sports Management placement in Ghana with United Through Sport, which he will be embarking on later this year.

Sportshack 24 Hour Radio Broadcast for United Through Sport

United Through Sport wishes to thank Tom Brown and Will Chamberlin of Royal Holloway University of London, hosts of the Sportshack on 103.2 fm. The guys recently hosted a 24 hour marathon broadcast in aid of United Through Sport.

During the show, the lads also ran a full marathon each, a truly remarkable achievement. The show was a great success, raising an incredible amount of £1379. The guys crossed the finish-line after a full day of broadcasting to the fitting tune of the Queen classic “We are the Champions”.

From everyone at United Through Sport, thank you for support.

DJs Play at Play for United Through Sport

On 25th October 2005, seven house DJs played to a crowd of 200 revellers at Play Bar in Clerkenwell, London. The event raised over £600 for United Through Sport.

The free-entry event was a great success and was aided by the change of the clocks which allowed the late licences to carry on a little later!

Many thanks to Dan Woods and John Atherton who arranged the venue, DJs and concluded the night with a solid back-to-back set!