Young wrestlers receive bursaries

21/06/2011

Northern Ireland Wrestlers receive bursaries from The Mary Peters Trust.
The award recipients announced this week are Bobbie Cardwell (NI Talent Squad and GB National Talent Squad) from Newtownabbey, Andrew Purssell (NI Talent Squad) from Newtownabbey, Glenn Elliott from Lisburn, Declan Dalton (NI Talent Squad) from Belfast, Shane Webb (NI Talent Squad) from Belfast and Matthew McCrossan (NI Talent Squad) from Londonderry each received £250, a total bursary of £1500.

Talent Development Coach, John O’Rawe, The Northern Ireland Wrestling Association’s Liaison Officer for The Mary Peters Trust, put forward applications for a number of athletes meeting the award criteria from wrestling clubs across the country.

Coach O’Rawe seeks out and develops athletes with potential to compete with credit at Irish, British and International level Tournaments. These six wrestlers are motivated, determined and have proven ability and this award will help them to improve their competitive record and prepare for advanced training and competition.

NIWA Chair Barry Pollin stated, “We owe the Mary Peter’s Trust a great debt of gratitude, they were one of the first organisations to have trust and belief in freestyle wrestling and as a direct result of their support our athletes regularly attend and place in high level competitions throughout the United Kingdom. Without the assistance of the Mary Peter’s Trust many young people would not have this opportunity to develop and we are very proud to work in partnership with such a highly respected body.”

Further information about Olympic Freestyle Wrestling is available at www.niwrestling.org