Game, set and cash for young tennis star
A young tennis star is the second recipient of Bradford Council's and SportsAid's b active sports grants.
Gavin Davison will receive £1,000 on Wednesday 23 April, which will help him to develop his skills in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Bingley youngster is already making great strides in the tennis world, holding the Yorkshire under 16 and 18 titles, as well as being the North of England under 18s champion despite being just 15-years-old.
Gavin has already enjoyed a taste of the limelight having won through to a tournament at Wimbledon where he got to the quarter finals on the grass courts.
His other successes include winning tournaments regionally at Ilkley, Huddersfield, Batley, Thongsbridge and Heaton, the national leg of the Nike Junior Tennis International tournament in 2006, and taking part in the West Australian Open in December 2007.
Gavin is now studying for his GCSE exams at Hanson School while training between 15 to 20 hours-a-week at Leeds Carnegie where he practices against world ranked players who also train there.
Gavin said: "My ambition is to play tennis professionally and hopefully the grant will help me achieve this goal.
"I'm really looking forward to the summer season and I'm hoping to take part in some tournaments in Europe and I'd like to play in the Orange Bowl in Florida over the next year."
Bradford Council's Assistant Director for Leisure Services, Phil Barker, said: "Through the SportsAid b active awards we are able to direct some funds towards encouraging and supporting talented sporting youngsters in the district achieve their goals.
"Gavin is fully deserving of this funding because not only is he very talented, he is also an exceptional role model for everyone because he is incredibly committed and trains hard every week in pursuit of realising his dreams."
SportsAid's Regional Development Manger, Lynne Baird said: “Tennis is one of the toughest and most expensive sports to succeed in. To climb the world rankings you have to compete in tournamets around the world which costs a lot of money and means a lot of dedication and sacrifice for young athletes and their family. We are deligthed to support Gavin as he works towards achieveing his potential. We are confident that the support we have been able to offer him in partnership with Bradford Council will help him take the next step towards success.”
The Bradford SportsAid b active awards are a follow-on from Bradford Council's b active awards, which recognise people in the district who through their outstanding achievements encourage others to exercise and be more physically active.