Sky Sports Scholarships

Sky Sports Scholarships scheme has supported some of Britain and Ireland's most exciting athletes.

Sky's scholarship scheme helped leading athletes

Sky Sports Scholarships supported some of Britain and Ireland's most exciting athletes to help them fulfil their potential on the international stage as they prepared for life in the spotlight. For the last 20 years Sky has been one of the leading investors in sport in Britain and Ireland. Sky Sports Scholarships extends our long term support of sport through programmes such as British Cycling, Sky Sports Living for Sport and the ECB Coach Education Programme. Sky Sports prepared the athletes with funding for coaching, training and competition and with mentoring support from Sky Sports News presenters. Funding was targeted at the specific training and competition needs of each individual athlete and Sky Sports News presenters partnered with them to follow their stories and share their experience of being in the public spot light. Read on to find out who the athletes are and how Sky Sports aimed to help them as part of Sky Sports Scholarships.

LIAM TANCOCK

Swimming is a full time occupation, and to be the best in the world there is no opportunity to fit in a regular job and income. The funding helped with various aspects of Liam's training and life, particularly making sure he was up to date with all the latest technology which helped him review and monitor his performance while travelling. Sky Sports' support also allowed Liam to have the best travel options which was necessary for good preparation, to eat the best quality food, and get gym facility access wherever he was in the world. Liam was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter David Garrido. Click here to find out more about Liam Tancock.

PERRI-SHAKES DRAYTON

The funding helped Perri to pay her coaching fees and access the best sports nutrition products, which was integral to her training programme and development ahead of London 2012. Sky Sports' support also helped to cover the costs of travel to and from training and to both British and International competitions. Being away from home a lot, be that training or competing, the funding enabled Perri to keep in touch with her family and friends regularly, who provided her with the support she needed as she strived to become one of the best 400m Hurdles athletes in the world. Perri was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Vicky Gomersall. Click here to find out more about about Perri Shakes-Drayton

EUAN BURTON

The funding from Sky Sports was used by Euan to support travel costs for domestic training as well as for international camps which were not covered by the GB programme. It also allowed him to increase the quality and frequency of his recovery strategies when in the most intense phases of his training and competition schedule. To aid his training, Sky Sports also financed the analysis equipment that Euan used in order to improve his judo technique. Euan was also able to increase the quality of his nutrition which is essential in a weight control sport such as judo. Euan was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Julian Waters. Click here to find out more about about Euan Burton

JODY CUNDY

Cycling is a financially demanding sport due to the state-of-the-art equipment that is required in order to compete at the highest level. Sky Sports' support of Jody enabled him to have access to this essential equipment. It also enhanced his training schedule by allowing Jody to attend high-performance training camps, based outside of the UK, that offered better training conditions. The funding gave Jody access to the best possible preparations ahead of competitions. Jody was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter John Paul Davis. Click here to find out more about Jody Cundy

KATIE TAYLOR

The funding enabled Katie to attend extra essential training camps with her coach and father ahead of London 2012. These training camps offered a high quality of opposition for Katie to train against which kept her at the top of her game. Sky Sports' support also allowed Katie to focus on her boxing career by helping her finance essential parts of her training regime, including travel, coaching and nutrition. As boxing is a very physical sport, the funding ensured that Katie received the best medical treatment available to her. Katie was been teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Rachel Wyse. Click here to find out more about Katie Taylor.

FRAN HALSALL

Sky Sports supported Fran by contributing to travel and accommodation during her hectic competition/training schedule. This ensured that Fran was able to prepare before important qualification competitions. The funding also helped to maintain Fran's health throughout the season. Whether she was training in Loughborough, or away at camps and competitions, Fran needed to ensure that she could fuel her body to the best of her ability and get the best results. Fran was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Charlie Webster. Click here to find out more about Fran Halsall.

STEVE BROWN

Wheelchair rugby is a financially demanding sport. Steve's rugby wheelchair alone costs £5,000 which needs to be replaced every 18 months. In addition, when playing for his club, the Kent Crusaders, Steve had to fund the entry fees for competitions, his equipment and his travel by himself. Sky Sports' support went a long way in easing the financial demands of the sport on Steve, enabling him to focus on his preparations. Steve was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Jim White. Click here to find out more about Steve Brown.

NICOLA SANDERS

Sky Sports' support allowed her and her coach to go to warm weather training camps in Stellenbosch, Florida State University and Southern California where the conditions enhanced her training sessions. The funding also allowed Nicola to visit Dr Muller Wolfhart, a world leader in the treatment of sports injuries, at his private clinic in Munich to assess her previous injuries. Sky Sports ensured that Nicola received the best standard of training and medical treatment possible. Nicola was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Natalie Sawyer. Click here to find out more about Nicola Sanders.

MARK ROHAN

Mark used to work part-time and, with Sky Sports' funding, he was able to take a career break so that he could focus on training, rehab, physiotherapy and conditioning. The support from Sky Sports allowed him to purchase the latest state-of-the-art equipment for training and competition purposes. Mark was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Sean Fletcher. Click here to find out more about Mark Rohan.

LOUIS SMITH

Sky Sports' support helped Louis as he aimed to develop as a world class gymnast. It directly financed Louis' travel to and from training at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club - which at over 350 miles a week was a big expense. In addition to this, as a professional gymnast's career is relatively short, the funding enabled Louis to not be hindered by the financial pressures of his future. Sky Sports therefore helped Louis to focus on always completing a flawless routine. Louis was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Hayley McQueen. Click here to find out more about Louis Smith.

AARON COOK

The funding contributed towards Aaron being able to finance his own training and competition plan. This was vital as Aaron made the decision to split from GB Taekwondo and be self-funded. It also helped meet his travel and accommodation costs for international competitions. It also covered his coaching, physio, medical and sport science fees. Aaron was teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter Rob Wotton. Click here to find out more about Aaron Cook.