You may remember we contacted you last year with regard to Lloyds TSB Local Heroes

You may remember we contacted you last year with regard to Lloyds TSB Local Heroes – a funding initiative for emerging young sportspeople including volleyball players who are aiming to be selected for London 2012 and beyond.

2009 is the second year of the programme and has seen Lloyds TSB run elite sporting workshops for the Local Heroes at TASS sporting hubs around the UK. As you can see from the details below, Jamie Baker and Adam Kendray are in their second year of the programme, and there are four additional volleyball players who have joined this year one of whom, Peter Bakare is lottery funded.

Forename	Surname	Gender	Date of birth	Age	County	HasDisability	SportDisciplineName	Renomination	TASS athletes	Lottery funded
Peter	Bakare	M	02-Jul-89	19.8	London	N	Volleyball	2009		Lottery funding
Rebecca	Beswick	F	07-Sep-92	16.7	Greater Manchester	N	Volleyball	2009
Bethany	Lowney	F	04-May-91	18.0	Surrey	N	Volleyball	2009
Richard	Yates	M	16-Jun-93	15.9	Hampshire	N	Volleyball	2009
Jamie	Baker	M	22-Jul-91	17.8	Lancashire	N	Volleyball	2008 and 2009	TASS
Adam	Kendray	M	07-Sep-89	19.7	County Durham	N	Volleyball	2008 and 2009	TASS

Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has today announced the expansion of its Local Heroes programme in response to research confirming that funding is the biggest hurdle on the sporting journey of prospective Olympic and Paralympic talent.

In addition to funding, the SportsAid Athlete Survey revealed that ‘access to coaching’ was of vital importance to young athletes seeking success. Of the athletes surveyed, 40% train up to 19 hours a week and a further 20% train as much as 24 hours a week. Three quarters admitted that, as talented young athletes, balancing school and educational commitments with their sport is the most difficult area of their lives to manage.

The second year of Lloyds TSB Local Heroes will support 271 emerging Olympic and Paralympic prospects from across Britain by providing each of these athletes with a £1,000 award - effectively 20% of their average annual sporting expenditure.

In response to the survey findings and to help young athletes further, the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes scheme will run day-long workshops designed to coach the ‘Local Heroes’ on how to effectively manage their sporting and educational commitments and provide them with the skills to prepare for life as an elite athlete. The workshops are being held at elite sporting centres across Britain, including today’s workshop at Roehampton University in London with over 50 Lloyds TSB Local Heroes from around southern England. Expert coaches and successful Team GB athletes, such as SportsAid Alumni Mark Foster will be on hand to provide inspirational insights and practical advice on a range of issues including nutrition, health and fitness, lifestyle management and sports psychology.

Sally Hancock, Director of the Lloyds TSB London 2012 partnership said, “In 2008 Lloyds TSB Local Heroes supported 250 aspiring young athletes. Of those, 24 have now progressed onto the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) and 21 have moved up to World Class lottery support.

To find your Lloyds TSB Local Hero or find out more about Lloyds TSB Local Heroes visit www.lloydstsb.com/localheroes