Talented athletes in Southwark have been given the opportunity to gain much-needed support as part of a sports talent development programme.

Now in its sixth year, Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme will provide more than 1,000 up and coming athletes in the UK with free access to its 200+ leisure facilities across the country, including a number of athletes from Southwark.

Athletes accepted onto the scheme in the area this year include International 400m athlete, Susanna Banjo and England national Dodgeball team player, Alice Bonsignori. Alongside free access to Everyone Active centres, Sporting Champions will also get the chance to receive valuable mentoring and guidance from some of the UK’s most influential sports stars.

Olympic silver medalist, Colin Jackson CBE, will continue to support the Sporting Champions scheme through his role as an Ambassador. He will be working alongside the scheme’s newly appointed panel of Elite athletes to make sport more accessible within local communities.

The scheme’s impressive line-up of Elite athletes features a number of heavily decorated Olympians and Paralympians including Lutalo Muhammad, Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova, Richard Kilty, Lauren Steadman, Kadeena Cox and Maisie Summers-Newton* whose experience and expertise will help to support athletes accepted on the scheme this year through one-to-one and group mentoring sessions.

Colin Jackson said: “I’m incredibly proud to be involved in a scheme that is so dedicated to supporting athletic talent from grass roots up.

“This year, I’ll be working alongside some truly talented Elite athletes to help rising sports stars reach their goals.

“The Sporting Champions scheme has helped thousands of up-and-coming athletes to achieve their sporting dreams and I can’t wait to see what this year’s intake go on to achieve.”

Sporting Champions will also receive free unlimited access to the Everyone on Demand app, providing them with more than 500,000 at-home workouts from leading fitness brands, including WithU, Flex and Les Mills on Demand.

Mark Basker, regional contract manager at Everyone Active, said: “Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme has been very successful in providing exceptional support to emerging talent and we are delighted once again to be supporting athletes from Southwark on their journey to success.

“It’s fantastic to see how the scheme has now expanded over the years, now providing more than 1,000 athletes nationwide with access to top-quality training facilities and support.

“As a leisure provider working on behalf of Southwark Council, we feel it is important to cater for all sectors of the community. We hope to continue making a real difference to our athlete’s success and are excited to see what the relaunch of the scheme will bring this year.”