London Marathon run for United Through Sport

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Will Hurl and Mark Cooling have completed the London Marathon in support of United Through Sport. Both completed the run in good times. Mark ran in 3 hours and 4 minutes, with Will not far behind in 3 hours and 30, both more than respectable times.

We would like to show our sincerest gratitude to these two men for their support. Furthermore, we would like to wish Will luck on his Sports Management placement in Ghana with United Through Sport, which he will be embarking on later this year.

BIBA South Wales Regional Golf Day

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United Through Sport recently became the nominated charity of the South Wales British Insurance Broker’s Association (BIBA), nominated by Chairman Sue Davidge. BIBA is an intermediary organisation representing the interests of Insurance Brokers and is the largest of it’s kind in the UK.

April 17th marked the region’s first Golf Day which included thirteen teams from across South Wales. The rain held off and the day was enjoyed by all. Not only was there an excellent turn-out, but over £700 was raised for United Through Sport.

We would like to thank Sue and everyone else at BIBA for their ongoing support.

 

Ashley Williams, Welsh International, Gives Support

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Swansea City and Wales Captain Ashley Williams gives his support to United Through Sport.

We are excited to announce that Premier League Footballer Ashley Williams has given his backing to United Through Sport. The Wales and Swansea City FC Captain said of the charity “United Through Sport are doing some amazing things in parts of the world that need it the most”- “The work that United Through Sport does is vitally important and I’m proud to support it.”

The Centre-back recently celebrated his 50th International Cap and will be looking to lead Swansea City to a top 8 finish in the Premier League this year. We would like to congratulate Ashley on another great season of football and thank him for his support.

“United Through Sport are doing some amazing things in parts of the world that need it the most. Sport has the power to change people’s lives and teach them about so much more than the game they are playing. It’s hard to think that there are so many children out there who don’t have the opportunity to participate in organised sport. The work that United Through Sport does is vitally important and I’m proud to support it.”

Sportshack 24 Hour Radio Broadcast for United Through Sport

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United Through Sport wishes to thank Tom Brown and Will Chamberlin of Royal Holloway University of London, hosts of the Sportshack on 103.2 fm. The guys recently hosted a 24 hour marathon broadcast in aid of United Through Sport.

During the show, the lads also ran a full marathon each, a truly remarkable achievement. The show was a great success, raising an incredible amount of £1379. The guys crossed the finish-line after a full day of broadcasting to the fitting tune of the Queen classic “We are the Champions”.

From everyone at United Through Sport, thank you for support.

Chaz Cepal Selected for Windward Islands U15s

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One of the stars of our After School and Young Leaders projects Chaz Capel  has been rewarded for his hard work and recent good form for St. Lucia U15s with a call up to the Windward Islands U15s team, and had this to say:

“I think much thanks should be given to my Mom and Dad, my coach Alton Crafton, and the UTS coaches who ran the after school program at my school. I want to also thank the almighty for his help, protection, and guidance. I will continue to do my best with the help of God.”

Good luck Chaz from all the coaches, staff and volunteers at United Through Sport!

Alex Runs the Paris Marathon

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Alex Carlton-Porter, Director of PTL Sports, has completed the Paris Marathon for United Through Sport.

Alex was initially a little nervous about running such a great distance, stating on his fundraising page “bearing in mind the furthest I have ever run is 10K, this will undoubtedly be a very painful and unenjoyable event. However it is all for a good cause.”

“Painful and unenjoyable” as it may have been, Alex came up with the goods!

Completing the 26 miles 385 yard course in 4 hours and 59 minutes, he managed to raise just over £600 for United Through Sport. Alex and his company PTL Sports have supported United Through Sport for many years and it is a support that we are truly grateful to have.

We are always on the look out for people to represent us on stages such as this, raising both funds and awareness for United Through Sport. For more information about how you can get involved check out our fundraising section here.

High hopes for Ghana Tennis player at ITF Africa Junior Championship

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Following his recent success at the ITF West and Central Africa Junior Qualifiers tournament in January in Togo, United Through Sport Ghana’s youngest tennis player, Reggie Okai travelled to Tunisia this weekend to play in the ITF Africa Junior Championship tournament.

Reggie was the only member of the Ghana National team who travelled to Togo to qualify for the Africa Junior Championships. This is a huge achievement for United Through Sport Ghana and of course for Reggie himself – although he has been playing tennis for a few years now, he is a complete novice to tournaments of this level and calibre. The tournament will see Reggie coming up against rival players from all areas of Africa and it is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talents to the international tennis community.

The whole team in Ghana along with his Academy fellow students are supporting him every step of the way and wish him all the luck in the world. We are all looking forward to welcoming him back and congratulating him on his successes at the tournament.

We’ll be updating the website and our Facebook page with all the latest news on Reggie’s tournament quest, so keep checking back for the latest information.

Success for Senior Team at Benin Tournament

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Earlier in February, our senior team and their coaches travelled to Benin for the J2A U’17 tournament in Cotonou. The team and their coaches travelled by bus to from Ghana, through Togo and finally into Benin. It was an extremely long journey of over nine hours each way due to border crossing delays but after the long journey and a good night’s rest the boys were ready for their first day of matches.

The boys won both of their group stage matches on the first day which put them in a good standing for the final group stage match the following day – the United Through Sport team won the match with ease which sent them straight into the semi-final later that day. The semi-final posed more of a challenge for our boys as they were unable to reach more than 1-1 at full time; after extra time and no change to the score they began a penalty shoot-out. The match finished on 5-4 to United Through Sport after the penalty shoot-out, securing a place in Sunday’s final at Benin’s national stadium.

The boys were extremely focused in preparation for the final and relished the sense of occasion that playing at the National stadium brought with it. The game started off well and the United Through Sport team had some fantastic opportunities but unfortunately it just wasn’t their day. The opposition team, Kozaf, took the lead at the end of the first half; our boys gave it everything but luck just wasn’t on their side on the day – they ended the match defeated 1-0 but the Burkina Faso side. Although the boys didn’t win, they had some incredible support and comments from spectators, fellow teams and coaches. They did everybody proud with their performance and effort throughout the tournament and left Benin with their heads still held high.

On arrival back at the academy house, they were treated to a hero’s welcome from the rest of the academy boys – with singing, dancing, chants, hugs, handshakes and prayers of thanks. Spirits were extremely high and everyone was incredibly proud of them and their achievements.

New Hockey Project in Pereyra Park, Argentina

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Following an incredibly generous donation of hockey equipment to United Through Sport Argentina, our Director, Alejandro, had a wonderful idea. He thought about hockey in Buenos Aires and realized that there simply were not enough opportunities in the area surrounding Pereyra Park. So, Alejandro said “ Why don’t we run our own Hockey School at the park for free and open it up to all the kids living in the neighborhood and the shantytown next to it?

I’m very excited to tell you that from March, every Monday and Wednesday afternoon, United Through Sport hockey volunteers will be coaching hockey. Everyone is invited to join in with this exciting new opportunity that pretty much sums up what United Through Sport is all about. So remember, if you’re planning to volunteer coaching hockey abroad, it is definitely worth checking out what United Through Sport in Argentina has to offer. We could use your help and we know you’ll have a blast!

Military Batallion raises funds for United Through Sport

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£1000 was raised in memory of LCpl Oliver Thomas who was sadly killed in Afghanistan last year. United Through Sport were invited to the memorial evening which was held on the 12th of February, where Trustee David Burton was presented with a cheque.

We would like to thank the Men and Women of 3MI Battalion for raising this money for United Through Sport.

We would also like to thank Olympic Gold Medal Winning Canoeist Etienne Stott who was on hand to lend his support. We wish him all the best of luck with his preparation for competition at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.