National Taekwondo Champion, Holly Kelly, 13, from Cheadle, has been awarded funding from the Life Leisure David Hopkins Foundation.
This will ensure she can compete in the Taekwondo Spanish Open to be held in Alicante from 15th to 17th April and follows her recent success at the Dutch Open Taekwondo Championships where she won the gold medal.
Holly represented Great Britain last year in two major championships, winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in France and she also participated in the World Championships held in South Korea.
Holly, who attends Kingsway School in Cheadle is a very committed athlete training up to five times a week with her club in Stockport and two weekends a month with the Great Britain Academy in Manchester.
Competing in events such as the Spanish Open, a major European Taekwondo event is hugely important for Holly so she can continue to compete against athletes at a high level and develop her skills in the sport. Holly is working hard as her ultimate ambition is to join the Great Britain Academy as a full-time athlete when she is 16 and represent Great Britain in Tokyo 2020.
Catherine Kelly, Holly’s mum said: “Holly is a role model, she trains really hard and strives to constantly improve performance. We are incredibly proud of her for representing her country so well and for recently winning a gold medal in the Dutch Open Taekwondo. We are sure she will make us proud again in the Spanish Open.”
Mandy Waller, Business Relations Manager at Life Leisure commented, “Holly is an inspiration to any young athlete, she is committed to her training and strives to do better each time she competes and we are delighted that we can help her compete on the European stage.”
She continued, “We are delighted to support Holly; We will be keeping a watching eye on Holly’s progress and wish her and her family the best of luck in pursuit of her sporting ambitions.”
The David Hopkins Foundation supports local charities and individuals in order to help the community to get more active and participate in sport or physical activity.
Applications for up to £500 are available from individuals living in Stockport and for up to £1000 for local clubs or groups that are based in the Stockport Borough.
The grant application form is simple to complete, so if you would like to apply for funding for your activity or project from the David Hopkins Foundation visit www.lifeleiure.net/enterprise/charity or call 0161 482 0900.
