Dungeness B brings Olympic legacy fund to Kent
Young Paralympic hopefuls are celebrating thanks to a £3,000 grant from Dungeness B power station. EDF Energy, which runs Dungeness B, set up a sporting legacy fund to capture the Olympic spirit after London 2012. Money from the fund is being used by the British Disabled Fencing Association (BDFA) to help it run a series of professional fencing coaching sessions.
It’s a double-win for the BDFA as they seized two bronze medals at the Montreal Wheelchair Fencing World Cup last month.
Shuna Body, Chairman of the BDFA, approached her local power station Dungeness B to fund coaching sessions for athletes and wheelchair fencing courses for existing coaches. It is hoped that the coaches’ courses will increase participation in wheelchair fencing by providing advice on disability, the rules of the sport and guides on how to run inclusive clubs.
The first course for coaches is scheduled to run in Maidstone later this month and a programme of ten weekend courses for Rio hopefuls is planned across the year throughout the country.
Shuna, who is from Romney Marsh, said: ”The legacy fund from Dungeness B will provide much needed coaching for Paralympic hopefuls and all important coaching sessions for clubs to widen access into disabled fencing.”
Martin Pearson, Station Director at Dungeness B said: “It is great to see that the EDF Energy sporting legacy fund is keeping the 2012 spirit alive and inspiring the next generation of athletes. I wish the BDFA the best of luck with their coaching programme which is sure to inspire many youngsters to achieve their goals in professional fencing.”
There are places available on the coaches training course on the 29 June in Maidstone, any coaches interested in attending should contact Shuna Body on shunabody@hotmail.com.
During the London 2012 Games BDFA hosted their largest paralympic team for 30 years, which included fourteen year old Gaby Down the world’s youngest competitor in this field. EDF Energy volunteers worked with the BDFA at the ParalympicsGB training camp at the University of Bath.
EDF shared a highly successful three-year charity partnership with the British Paralympic Association (BPA) between 2010 and 2013. The BPA is the charity responsible for selecting, preparing, funding and managing Great Britain’s teams at the Paralympic Games and also supports disability sports at grass roots level.
During the relationship EDF and its employees raised more than £650,000 for the BPA, exceeding the initial fundraising target. The company also worked with the organisation to reduce its environmental impact through its ‘Greening the Team’ initiative. As a result, the BPA achieved a world-first, with the ParalympicsGB 2012 preparation camp in Bath becoming the first event of its kind to receive a global gold accreditation for sustainability from the Council for Responsible Sport.
EDF announced in March that it will to continue to work with the British Paralympic Association after agreeing a four-year sponsorship deal with the organisation and ParalympicsGB.