Sky Academy Sports Scholar applications now closed!

Who will be the new Sky Academy Sports Scholars? With the applications coming to an end, what happens next?

The battle to become a Scholar is set to go up another gear.

With the deadline for applications passing on Sunday night, it is now up to the Head of Scholarships Tony Lester and his team to make their tough selection decisions.

There have been over 400 athletes from the UK and Ireland who have applied hoping to receive the support of Sky.

Sky Academy are looking for 10 new Scholars, plus two from Germany and Italy, providing financial, mentor and other support like media training aiming to boost the careers of talented young stars and fulfil their potential on the international stage.

The age criteria was 16-25 and for the first time applicants are being considered from extreme sports, as well as the traditional summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic activities.

Lester said: "I've been blown away by the standard of applications I've seen over the last few weeks.

"I've seen amazing video profiles of rock climbers, skateboarders and 200m runners.

"It's a huge task to go through all of these applications but it's so exciting for us here at Sky. It'll be sad to see the current batch of Scholars exit the programme but it's time to think about our next generation.

"I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for taking the time to apply."

An announcement will be made in September on who the successful applicants are and they will be contacted by Sky.