Jersey Sport takes over £125,000 Travel Grants scheme

Sunday 03 December 2017

Jersey Sport has taken over the management of the States' £125,000 Travel Grants scheme and is inviting association and club leaders to discover more about the new process for bidding for support for sport travel.

The Travel Grants scheme helps support Jersey’s young sportsmen and women by enabling them to compete in events and take part in training camps at a higher level. Up to £125,000 is available in 2018 as part of the States' commitment to developing athletes and coaches.

The panel, which will use a detailed set of criteria to decide which sports groups are awarded the funding, is made up of Jersey Sport board members Steve Law, chairman of the committee and Jean Cross, vice chairman, along with long-serving Jersey Sports Council representative, Bernard Cooper, experienced shooter Steve Le Couilliard and Jersey Sport CEO Catriona McAllister.

Mr Law said: "Jersey Sport is pleased to be given the responsibility of overseeing the States of Jersey Travel Grant fund from 1st January 2018. Building on the excellent work of the former custodians, the Sports Advisory Council, this is a great opportunity to review the qualification criteria and application process and link more closely to the overall strategic aims and ambitions of Jersey Sport and, at the same time, support sports to achieve higher and more uniform standards of governance. I would encourage all sports to attend the upcoming workshops."

The first round of applications will open on 6 December and run until 6 January 2018. A second round will take place in June next year.

Mr Le Couilliard, added: “I would like to thank all past and present Council members for their contributions, especially to three of the members who have been sitting on the council for over 20 years. Serving on the Council has been very interesting and at times difficult, especially when we have had to say ‘no’ to funding a
particular application.

“The new panel has taken two members from the previous Council for a transition period of one year and I am pleased to have been chosen as one of them.”

To help support association and club representatives with their bids, Jersey Sport is currently in the process of recruiting a Sports Partnership Manager. Once appointed, a key part of this high-profile role will be to work closely alongside sports organisations to support them with their governance and applications.

Sports associations and clubs are being invited to join workshops at the St Paul’s Centre in St Helier. They will be held on 5 December at 13:30 and 18:00 for associations and on 7 December at 12:30 and 19:00 for clubs. Attendees should visit Jersey Sport website to register.

Steve Pallett, the Assistant Minister with responsibility for sport, said: “It is vitally important that the States continues to support young people and their coaches to develop and participate at the highest level possible. Funding has been allocated by the department to allow this Travel Grant scheme to continue and I would encourage participants from as wide a range of sports as possible to work with their clubs and associations to bid for support.”