Six undergraduates have been presented with University sports bursaries for the 2004/2005 academic year.
The bursaries are offered annually to Sussex sports men and women who are of an international, national or high county standard. The support package includes free use of University sports facilities; fitness testing and programming; physiotherapy/sports massage; a parking permit; a financial package; and regular mentoring sessions.
Sussex alumni have previously provided an annual contribution of £1,000 to help fund the programme. However, with increasing numbers of high-standard athletes coming to Sussex, the contribution made by alumni has increased to £2,000 for this academic year and will increase again next year to a maximum contribution of £3,000 per year.
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| Rosalie Birch |
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| Laurence Halstead |
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| David Stone
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Carol Beever (Psychology)
Fastpitch softball
Carol has representative honours for England and Great Britain at both senior and junior levels. Highlights from 2004 include competing in the prestigious London Cup and a 3rd place in the European Club Championships. Most of the 2005 season will be spent working towards selection for the European Championships in Prague next August.
Rosalie Birch (Linguistics and English Language)
Cricket
Rosalie helped England to a one-day international victory against New Zealand in August. Last season she was also part of a successful defence of the County Championship with Sussex and of the National Premier League title with Brighton and Hove. Aspirations for 2005 include winning both the World Cup in South Africa during March and April and the Ashes series in the summer.
Laurence Halsted (Psychology)
Fencing
Laurence is ranked number two in Great Britain and attended the 2004 Athens Olympics as training partner for the British number one. He spent much of last year competing in World Cup and Grand Prix events worldwide and recently finished 9th in the Under 20 World Championships. This year Laurence will be attending Grand Prix events in Copenhagen, Paris, China, Egypt, Bonn and Havana. He is also working towards selection for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Anna Newell (Geography)
Water polo
Anna competes for Haywards Heath in Division 1 of the National League. She is a junior international and is aiming for selection for the Great Britain senior team.
David Stone (Social Work and Social Care)
Cycling
David competes for Great Britain in the road race (30-60k), time trial (10-20k) and track events (200m, 1k and 3k). Last season he just missed out on selection for the Athens Paralympic Games, but hopes to compete in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
Ben Warren (Neuroscience)
Athletics
Ben competes in middle-/long-distance and cross-country events. He is currently the inter-counties 1,500m champion and Sussex AAA 3,000m champion, and leads the Sussex Cross Country League table. He hopes for a high placing at the National Cross Country Championships in February.
Louise Akers (Geography) and Claire Vivian (Biochemistry) have been awarded hockey bursaries in association with Lewes Hockey Club.