Author: Lecky

Finnian Hutchinson – Triathlete

Dear John Taylor foundation,

Thank you so much for the help that you so generously gave to me last year it was a great help in which I am very thankful for. Being given grants like that allows me to perform to the best of my ability and also to be able to compete with the best in the country and occasionally the world.

Last year I spent your grant on putting it towards a new
bike and also getting some new much needed trainers for racing in. these were
my race shoes for the season and being race shoes they were pretty expensive.

This allowed me to save money on the things that I needed to
compete as well and also made me be able to achieve my season goals such as
competing in two European cup races gaining multiple top ten’s in the British
super series as well a podium and an international call up to compete in the
prestigious super league jersey where I represented Great Britain to come 11th.
A very good performance in a field that included a youth Olympic medallist.

I also managed to get a top 25 in the ETU cup in Riga and
two school games medals.

Although I didn’t achieve all of my goals this season none of it would have been possible if it wasn’t for foundations such as John Taylor foundation.

Thank you so very much you have been an unbelievable help. Many thanks and kind regards,

Finnian Hutchinson

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Grants awarded in 2019

We happily awarded grants to the following athletes:

Triathlon

Finnian Hutchinson, Yorkshire Triathlon Academy

Orienteering

Peter Molloy, FVO

Track and Field

Henry Carter, Spenborough AC

Deshawn Lascelles, Cambridge and Coleridge

Aran Thomas, Wakefield and District Harriers

Wheechair Racing

Lizzie Williams, Velocity Wheelchair Racing Club

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Aran Thomas

We just wanted to say a huge thank you for the grant towards the purchase of a new competition javelin for our son Aran.

As you are aware the implement is specialist and very
expensive. We created a crowd funding page and have received tremendous support
in reaching the sum of £700, this along with a further £15 in personal
donations left us £200 pounds short of our target. Your kind grant has allowed
us to meet our target; and today we have placed the order for the Javelin.

We will produce a report and photographs for you when the
javelin arrives.

Thank you also for the recommendation in respect of cardiac
screening; this is something which we have, and will continue to look in
to with a view to maintaining Aran’s health.

Once again a huge thank you for your kind assistance,
interest and grant.

Kindest regards

John, Jacquie and Aran Thomas

Peter Molloy – Orienteer

Thank
you very much for supporting my recent funding application to help cover costs
for competing in the Junior World Orienteering Champs 2019 in Denmark, which I
have just returned from. 

Personally,
I had a fantastic time competing. I was going in order to gain experience of
world class racing for my future junior orienteering career, and in that way
was determined to produce solid performances that I could be proud of in all 4
disciplines. 

The
event kicked off with the sprint around a very technical housing estate in
which I placed 63rd, 89 seconds down on the winner. I was very pleased with not
only this performance but also my race in the challenging long distance the
next day where I was one of four GB male athletes to achieve a top 50 place,
coming 43rd. This was my personal highlight of the week and I will remember
that race for a long time. 

The
next event was the middle qualification, in which although I wasn’t able to
qualify due to making around 2-3 minutes of mistakes, I learnt many invaluable
lessons about how to go about racing this discipline, namely the need for a
very high level of technical accuracy! The final event was the relay, in which
I ran second leg for the men’s second team. I ran a good race with only one
mistake, which was an excellent way to cap off a fantastic week of racing not
just for myself, but also for team GB. This year’s JWOC was our nation’s most
successful ever, with 4 medals and another podium place!

Once again thank you so much for your funding, which very much made a difference to my being able to compete in the championships: a truly unforgettable experience.

Peter finishing the Sprint
In full flow
The GB Team

Martha Calton-Seal – Triathlete

Support for The John Taylor foundation was a great help during my first season in the British Triathlon Nation Super Series. My aim was to compete hard but to enjoy my first year as i wasn’t sure where i would finish in the races. I was really pleased and surprised by my races; 4th Hetton Lyon Triathlon, 5th WTS Lead Triathlon, 4th Llanelli Triathlon. I finished the season with a GB ranking of 8th overall, which was amazing, i managed to gained representative honours and compete for GB in the Triathlon Super League in Jersey. 

In November 2018 i was selected to be a member of the England ‘New Generation’ Triathlon squad. The last year has been a fantastic. Im honoured to be part of the current England Training group and the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy. Im looking forward to 2019 and the journey ahead.

The John Taylor Foundation has help make the transition from competing at regional level to National Level that little bit smoother and would like to thank everyone for their support.

Nathan Smith – Triathlon

The £100 contribution that I received from The John Taylor
Foundation meant that I could purchase a bike box and a new wetsuit to use for
training events and races abroad. This last year I have used the bike box for
the following events:

  • Quarteira ETU Junior Cup
  • Riga ETU Junior Cup
  • Tenerife training camp

The bike box has allowed me to travel further with my own
bike and meant I have been able to train on my own bike abroad in order to
improve my cycling. I took the bike box to two European Junior Cup races this
season, one at the beginning of the season (Quarteira) and one at the end of
the season. Although the races may not have gone exactly to plan, the
experience was great and I learnt a lot from these races. I would like to thank
The John Taylor Foundation for their support this season and I hope for an even
better 2019.

Nathan Smith

Grants Awarded in 2018

These are the athletes that received grants in 2018:

Track and Field

Amber Anning, Brighton and Hove AC

Francesca Sene, Basingstoke and Mid Hants AC

Elliot Moran, Exeter Harriers

Skye Wicks, HAWCS

Emily Tyrrell, Exeter Harriers

Leanza Dwaah, Enfield and Haringey AC

Lilli Carr, Keighley and Craven

Triathlon

Martha Calton-Seal, Yorkshire Triathlon Academy

Lavinia Gavaghan, Wakefield Junior Triathlon Club

Orienteering

Grace Molloy, FVO

Lucy Haines, Airienteers

Matthew Fellbaum, EUOC

Joe Woodley – JWOC 2016

The Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) has always represented the major goal in my Junior Orienteering Program. 2016 was my final year in the Junior ranks and whilst I have raced for Great Britain at several European Youth Championships and twice at the Junior European Cup, I was determined to go out on a high at JWOC in Switzerland. Throughout the Winter of 2015 and spring of 2016 I put an extra focus on my training, nutrition and performance lifestyle. I’m currently studying at Sheffield University and the great training group and tailor made strength and conditioning program made this a lot easier. Unfortunately, I was hampered by a knee injury for much of the season limiting the volume of training I was able to do. Thankfully I was able to reach a good fitness level in the weeks leading up to our Great Britain team selection races. After some solid performances I waited anxiously for news on the selections. I was delighted when I found out I’d been selected alongside 11 others (6 boys and 6 girls in total) for JWOC. Winning the British Middle Distance Championships in M20 Elite Just three weeks before JWOC was a final confidence booster and confirmed I was in good form.

The team met at Manchester Airport on the 6th of July to begin our trip to Switzerland. We flew to Bergamo airport in Italy. On arrival we stopped for food and to do a large shop – seemingly buying every banana in the supermarket. We then drove across the border and through the beautiful Engadin Valley to reach our accommodation and the event centre in the village of Scuol. We were staying in a Youth Hostel alongside many others teams. We spent the next few days training and getting accustomed to how it felt running at altitude; especially important for those of us running the long distance race held at between 2200m and 2000m above sea level. Each member of the team was running two out of the three individual races (Sprint, Middle or Long) as well as the relay race.

The first race of the week was the Sprint – this was the race that I wasn’t doing. Frustrating as it was to sit this one out it was great fun supporting the rest of the team who were racing. A particular mention must go to Megan Carter-Davies who had a great race to finish in 7th place, equaling Great Britain’s best ever female sprint result at JWOC. Dane Blomquist though disappointed with his race, deserves a mention as the best British male finisher in 41st. That evening we debriefed as a team and congratulated our sprinters, before discussing the Long Race. The long race was fairly remote and we would have to take public transport; a train and bus to reach the pre-start area.

I woke early on Monday in order to catch my train – I often struggle to eat before big races but the vast array of Swiss Muesli, yoghurts, cheeses, meats and breads available at the Youth Hostel made things easier! I was glad to share my train and bus journey with Jenny Rickets a fellow British Team member; we chatted about our University’s – Edinburgh and Sheffield and the great rivalry between them. This served to take my mind off the race keeping me relaxed. Almost as soon as my race started I realized it was going to be a long tough day. The terrain was rough and steep with many rocks and lots of vegetation.  I managed to keep my navigation clean and battled around the course. Upon finishing I was drained – the heat and altitude had taken its toll on my body. I was disappointed with my performance but knew this wasn’t the time for moping. The sooner I could take on board fluids and food the better my recovery would be; this had to be the priority if I wanted to give myself at chance of performing in the middle distance race to come on Wednesday.

Tuesday was a rest day and all the team took the opportunity to have a long lie in before cramming in as much food as possible. After breakfast we had a team meeting. We had all found the long race really tough – our best result came from Will Rigg who placed 31st. It was now important to put this behind us and focus on our next goal the middle distance race. We also met up with the Swedish team at their hotel and played various games such as ping pong and table football!

The middle distance race consisted of a qualification race on Wednesday and a final on Thursday. I was really excited for this race – and had high hopes of making the final. The Qualification races divide the competitors into three heats A, B and C. The top 20 runners in each heat progress to the Final. I ran hard but more importantly avoided mistakes in the first technical loop of my course and was in 6th place before a long leg to number 8. Unfortunately, I missed my control by about 10 meters and it took me around 1:45 to relocate. I battled hard hereafter, nailing the rest of my course as heavy rain began to fall on the steep rocky slopes. When I finished I faced the agonizing wait to see if I would make the top twenty. In the end I was gutted to miss out on a top 20 position by just 1 minute – frustratingly my time behind the leader would also have been good enough for qualification in heat B. I found this hard to take as my race was so much fun and I’d nailed 90 percent of the course but just one mistake had cost me. However, that’s the way orienteering is and why we keep coming back, searching for that illusive perfect race!

On Thursday those of us who didn’t make the final travelled to the arena to spectate. We had a great chance of some top results with Fiona Bunn finishing 2nd in her heat with Megan 3rd in hers. We also had three guys, Dane, Daniel and Sasha in the men’s Final. First through the arena was the Dane after whom the rest of the team gradually filtered through. We cheered everyone through and it was awesome watching Megan take 4th place in the middle distance. Sasha also produced a solid race to finish in 16th on the highly competitive and hard fought men’s’ course.

Friday was the Final day of racing, the relay. All of our four teams were strong and capable of a top result. On first leg for me was Will Rigg, he made some mistakes early on then ran well to bring us in in 24th position. I ran a strong clean race to bring us up to 21st place with Harrison on last leg again running well to bring us up to 16th. The relay was arguably my best performance of the week and a real positive to end on. The other men’s team were 9th place (12th including 2nd teams). The women’s first team were a fabulous 5th and the 2nd team were 16th. Finishing with 4 teams inside the top 20 was great way to finish the week. Whilst I wasn’t satisfied with my individual performances JWOC has only fueled my hunger and desire to make it to the top. The team had a lot of fun and meeting Junior orienteers from across the world was a real highlight.  I can take away many positives from my races at JWOC, particularly the majority of my middle distance race in which I kept pace with the very best Juniors in the World. Transitioning into the senior ranks next year will be a huge challenge but one that I approach with a lot of great memories and valuable experience gained at the Junior Level.

I’d like to thank; Airienteers, The John Taylor Foundation, Yorkshire and Humberside Orienteering Association and the Leeds Sports Federation whose generous donations made this trip possible.

The Team

Joe Woodley, Middle Qualifier

Julie Emmerson – JWOC 2016

Dear John Taylor Foundation,

I would like to say a big thank you for the contribution you have made towards the cost of me competing at the Junior World Orienteering Championships last week. I have had a long season packed full of injuries and despite many hours of cross training, I unsurprisingly didn’t get the results I had originally aimed for in the individual races. However it did all come together in the relay. I ran the last leg in GB’s first team and the three of us all put good solid runs together to finish in 5th place, which is the best result ever by a GB girls relay team at JWOC! I went out in 7th place and quickly passed two runners but got overtaken by Finland who had the champion in the long distance race on last leg. Going through the spectator run-through I knew I was in 6th place (the last podium position) so the last loop was all about keeping it together. The worry of losing that position was at the back of my mind all the way to the last control but when I ran into the finish I heard I had moved up to 5th place! It was an amazing feeling to go up on the podium and to end a disappointing week on a high. On the whole it was a great trip to the beautiful Engadin valley in Switzerland and the races have provided valuable experience.

Thanks again and all the best,

Julie Emmerson

Julie – centre