APPLICATIONS have opened in Cornwall for the 2025 GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) awards.

The largest athlete programme of its kind in the UK, GSF awards include financial help, access to sport facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and mental health wellbeing support.

In 2024, a total of 116 talented individuals from across Cornwall won awards worth nearly £70,000 – among them top ten world canoeist Benjamin Cabrera; target sprint shooter Caitlin Keaney; Grade 1 para dressage rider Felicity Marriott and Paralympian triathlete Melissa Reid who took silver at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games.

According to research carried out by OnePoll on behalf of GSF in November 2024, two thirds of the 2,000 people surveyed (66 per cent) say they believe more should be done to support Britain’s talented young athletes achieve sporting success and over a quarter (27 per cent) say that a career in sport offers great opportunities to younger people from under privileged backgrounds.

Operating under the Better brand, GLL is the not-for-profit social enterprise that runs nine leisure centres in Cornwall on behalf of Cornwall Council.

“It’s a real privilege to see the difference GSF awards can make in helping talented sportsmen and women achieve their potential,” said GLL community sport manager Karen Edmond.

“The scheme is now in its seventeenth year and thousands of athletes in Cornwall and beyond have benefited from the wide-ranging support available during that time.

“Sporting success is a great source of national pride and I’m proud to be part of an organisation that actively encourages sporting excellence in such a practical, hands-on way.”

The deadline for those interested to apply for the GSF Awards is February 20, 2025. For more information and an application form, readers can visit: www.gllsportfoundation.org