University teams-up with netball superstar Geva Mentor to raise funds for young athletes
NETBALL champion Geva Mentor CBE has helped to raise nearly £1,500 pounds to fund the early-careers of young athletes after teaming-up with the University of Chichester.
The former England captain joined the University for a one-off event where she spoke about her trophy-laden career and led masterclasses for amateur players and soon-to-be PE teachers. The money raised at the event, attended by hundreds of people, will go towards giving young athletes – specifically girls from disadvantaged backgrounds – greater access to sport.
It follows a recent report from the Women’s Sport Foundation which showed that, by the age of 17, more than half of all girls quit sport altogether.
Goalkeeper Geva, who competed in five Commonwealth Games for England, now plays for the Collingwood Magpies in Australia. She said: “It’s not very often that I’m on English soil so it’s great that I’ve been able to come to the University of Chichester to deliver some netball coaching sessions and inspire the players at grassroots levels.”
All money raised at the event was donated to the Steve Bernard Foundation, which was created and named in honour of the University of Chichester student who tragically died in a car crash in 2005. Ms Mentor is an ambassador for the Foundation, which is based in her hometown of Bournemouth, and raises money for community sport projects across the south coast.
Founder Tony Bernard (above centre left) said: “Geva inspires so many people and she is an excellent role model for young people who have a flare for sports. The money raised here will help girls aged 11 to 16 to stay in all sports, because this is the age when most of them drop out of clubs and teams.”
The University of Chichester has been training teachers, including sports coaches, for more than 180 years through its Institute of Sport. It also boasts one of the most successful netball university teams in the UK, which currently sits atop the BUCS league.
Mrs Yvonne Mentor, who collected the cheque on behalf of her daughter, said: “Sport can change lives – and Geva feels it’s important to inspire the next generation from a young age. We want more PE students because they have each have an impact on young people in sport
“Geva’s keen to pass on the benefits of sport to the next generation, and she’s now back at university studying to become a PE teacher for after her professional careers comes to a close.”
Another video of Geva’s talk at the University of Chichester on her golden career is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dunJFSvSFos.
For more about becoming a sports teacher or netball coach visit the University of Chichester’s course pages at www.chi.ac.uk/sport. More about the Commonwealth-winning medallist can be found at www.gevagkmentor.com.
