TWO Bradford athletes are searching for sponsorship opportunities ahead of a trip of a lifetime.
Amelia Brooksbank and Lilly Pryce, both of Bradford, have received confirmation of their places in the Great Britain Under 17 Girls’ Water Polo Squad – making the final cut of 15 players to represent their nation at the European Championships Campaign this summer, which will be held in Manisa, Turkey in July.
Brooksbank and Pryce – two close friends from the city and both successful water polo athletes - took up the sport when they joined St Bede's and St Joseph’s Catholic College at 11-years-old.
Throughout their time at school, they participated in the English Schools Swimming Association (ESSA)water polo competition, often competing against teams from private schools.
Their biggest success at school was finishing as the second-best team in the country, while also being selected to represent English Schools in a tournament in Hungary in October 2022.
Despite living in Bradford, both athletes travel between two and three times a week to Manchester to attend their club training sessions with the City of Manchester (CoM) Water Polo Club.
The Great Britain Under 17 Girls’ Water Polo squad, who Brooksbank and Pryce have both been selected to represent in July, are currently fundraising/looking for sponsorship opportunities to assist them with their European Championship Campaign this summer.
Natalie Brooksbank, parent of Amelia, commented: “Swim England offers financial support where they can, however this fantastic team sport is almost entirely self-funded. Athletes from all backgrounds deserve to be selected based on merit and not on their family’s financial situation. Girls sport, in general, is often underfunded and barriers to accessing sport for girls are numerous. This group of girls are dedicated athletes and they deserve all the support they can get.”
The total cost of competing for the Bradford duo and the rest of the Great Britain Under 17 Girls’ Water Polo squad, will be in the region of £35,000.
The GB team have set themselves a series of challenges to raise funds to ensure that the whole squad is able to travel to Manisa in July but have welcomed financial support to help them achieve their dreams of going to this summer’s European Championships.
Cost examples:
• £100 would pay for the transfer costs for a player to travel to and from the airport to their accommodation,
• £250 would cover the cost of one player’s food for the entire trip and
• £800 would pay for one return air fare.
A representative said: “We will acknowledge any support, including company logo, on social media platforms via our GoFundMe page and, if we hear back from you in time, we will include your logo on the t-shirts that the girls will wear during their challenges. Please email your company logo, preferably vector image, to katy@haygarthross.co.uk by June 15.
For more information on the squad and if you wish to donate, head to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/great-britain-u17-girls-water-polo-squad?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined
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