Talented athletes from Bedford benefit from £18,900 worth of GLL Sport Foundation support

Now in its 17th year the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) has so far contributed over £17m worth of athlete funding and support and distributed over 30,000 awards to young and talented athletes in 70 areas of the UK where GLL operate and across 117 different sports.

At a GSF Awards Event held at Mowsbury Golf and Squash Complex on 4 June, athletes and partners gathered to hear how this year's athlete award fund of £18,900 will help support talented athletes on their sporting journey.

The GSF supports athletes through financial bursaries, access to physical rehabilitation and mental wellbeing support and all athletes are also given access to over 250 sport and leisure facilities across the UK operated by GLL under its "BETTER" brand. These include Kempston Pool and Fitness and John Bunyan Sports Fitness leisure centres in Bedford.

Over 17 years, the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) has continued to be at the forefront of developing local young athletic talent with the majority of athletes under the age of 21 and on average 88% of athletes receive no other funding or athlete support, which underlines the importance of the scheme to up and coming athletes.

GLL’s recent research shows that many talented athletes struggle to realise their dreams of sporting glory due to rising costs of equipment, training, physiotherapy, travel and nutrition. For them, a GSF Award can be the lifeline to staying in training and meeting their potential.

Local Bedford recipient Maggie Cotter (62) is indeed using her GSF award, which includes free membership at Better leisure centres, to compete not only in the 2025 British Transplant Games in Oxford this July, but also the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany in August.

Maggie said: “Exercise has always been important to me, I was a competitive swimmer as a child, but ill-health led to my passion taking a back seat. Aged 21, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease, a genetic condition that eventually causes the kidneys to fail. Then, in my mid-30’s, while pregnant, my liver started to grow. After giving birth to a healthy baby boy, the liver continued to grow, and eventually my only option was a liver transplant.

“I was given the gift of life in 2018. However, post liver transplant my kidneys deteriorated, until in 2022 I was listed for kidney transplant. In February 2023, with my kidney function down to just 9%, and with preparations underway to go on dialyse, I was a fortunate recipient of a kidney donation.

“It took a year for my physical health to recover, but I joined Kempston Pool and Fitness in 2024 with the aim of competing in the 2024 British Transplant Games. Initially managing 200m in 30 minutes, I was in the pool almost every weekday morning and built up from 200m to 2000m, until I competed in BTG 2024 in Nottingham and took home the bronze medal in the 50m backstroke.”

Now semi-retired in her role as Assistant Registrar at Cranfield University, Maggie has upped her training schedule and will compete, not only in the 2025 British Transplant Games in Oxford this July, but also the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany in August.

She continued: “Thanks to the GSF Awards I’ve upped my training. Still swimming at Kempston, I’ve joined the Flitwick Dolphins Swimming Club to help with my competition training. I’m also doing Aqua Fit sessions and now added strength training at John Bunyan Sports and Fitness.

“It was an amazing feeling last year to win my first swimming competition for over 40 years. Now I’m ready to push on and with help from GLL Sport Foundation I’ll be in the best shape of my life to bring home the trophies.”

Current GSF National Ambassadors include Joe Clarke, Kimberley Woods, Tulley Kearny, Louise Fiddes, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson and amongst GSF Alumni are Tom Daley, Ellie Simmonds, Daryl Neita and Anthony Josh

Mayor Tom Wootton said: "What an incredible night! The energy, the talent, the passion on display is truly inspiring. The GLL Sports Foundation grants are a springboard for our athletes, and I can’t wait to see how far they’ll go. Bedford Borough is cheering you on every step of the way."

For more information visit www.gllsportfoundation.org

The GLL Sport Foundation's Patron is Sally Gunnell, OBE and partners involved in the programme include SportsAid, SportsAid Wales, Mary Peters Trust, sponsors from GLL's supply chain and local authority partners.