Goat Lees Primary School are excited to be hosting an inspirational workshop with Team GB Basketballer Pierre Henry-Fontaine. Pierre needs your help to raise funds for vital training, medical and competition costs. This money will also help your school and other athletes across the country, find out more below!
"To Inspire, Ignite, Engage, Nurture and Challenge"
Who's Coming?
How I Started
I first picked up a basketball at 12 years old on the South Acton Estate in London and I was hooked. Growing through the ranks of the junior circuit and then onto playing in the big league – my passion for the game was always at a high and I was a talented player, however my sporting achievements were never seen on par in comparison with my academic efforts coupled with the fact that Basketball was a new sport to the UK – the resources were simply not there to push me to the highest level.
My Greatest Achievement
My greatest achievement has to be when I ruptured my Achilles tendon twice in the space of two years. It ended up being a career ending experience but I decided to transfer my skill set into helping people by becoming an athlete and youth mentor which is a job that fills me with great pride.
My Greatest Challenge
My greatest challenge is sustaining a career ending knee injury that put me out of the sport. My sporting journey could have ended there, but I wanted to continue. So I started a fitness and personal training company that would help aspiring athletes reach the levels that I did and more!
My Hobbies
My hobbies are fitness, socialising and cooking. I love fitness, and spend every single day improving my health and wellbeing, be it cooking nutritional meals or exercising, I am always thinking about fitness! I also love socialising, being an athlete, it Is hard to find the time to spend with friends and have fun, so when I get the chance, I always love it! My favourite meal is a classic chicken Caesar wrap!
My Aspirations and Future
As life moved on however, my love for the game never died as I continued to play semi pro and I focused on achieving my optimum condition as an athlete. As the next generation of talented young players came through the ranks – they looked to me for guidance and advice. My focus was then to expand my knowledge base so I could help to fill the gaps not just for those basketball players but all athletes. I trained and qualified as a Level 3 Personal trainer and expanded upon my personal understanding and research on conditioning the body for optimum performance.
My main goal for the future is to expand on my company 360 Elite – this company is my true passion and our vision is to make the world have a 360 Elite state of mind, which has a 360 holistic approach towards creating a well-balanced elite person. Tackling physical, mental and spiritual aspects of training. We work to provide essential knowledge to young people who have extraordinary gifts, so they are well prepared in life. We pride ourselves on meeting people at the point of their needs whether amateur or professional.
Our vision is to be a positive contributor within society and the wider world to impact generations to come. We are passionate about bringing families together, and giving young people access to professional training in a professional environment. We thrive in working with individuals who do not have a healthy work life balance, and through each of our strands, our core values of empowerment, support and education are at the forefront of every interaction that we have with our clients/students.
Who are Sports for Champions?
Great news! Sports For Champions UK (CIC) will soon visit your school! Your young people have been invited to join a sponsored fitness circuit led by a Professional athlete, who will educate, enable, and empower participants with a view to inspiring them to be the champions of tomorrow.
While we're not all athletically inclined, we strongly encourage participation, all young people have talent and require inspiration to pursue their dreams - whatever they may be!
After 12 years of success we have perfected our inspirational events and they are guaranteed to deliver for your school and pupils!
Sports For Champions events are held in support of schools, which keep 60% of the funds raised to spend on resources that will enrich young peoples education/experience. Professional athletes in need of support are the only other beneficiaries from the remaining 40%. Sports For Champions is an audited organisation that is voluntarily registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Meaning you can support the initiative with assurance.
What will happen on the day?
During the assembly, Sports For Champions athletes show medals and tell their story, hard work, lessons, and insights shared to capture the imagination of all and inspire healthier active lifestyles. Athletes discuss challenges on the road to success, with resilience, nutrition, diet, and dedication forming key topics. Fitness is essential for every young person’s general wellbeing in physical and mental health. It is also proven to be a strong booster of learning potential or brain power. By inspiring children as champions of tomorrow, Sports For Champions envision young people developing in all walks of life as healthy, [pro] active community-minded participants in society.
Alongside Team Sports For Champions, athletes engage in invaluable work within local communities to support their training-related costs (e.g. physio/travel). Most world-class athletes train a rigorous 35hr week and struggle to find reliable work that fits their schedule. This is how the funds we raise enable athletes and your school/club to realise their potential. Many pro athletes are unsponsored, lose support, or cannot find it.
Sports For Champions offers schools the benefit of an additional funds to go towards resources/facilities, whilst helping athletes with the funds required to sustain their journey with a contribution towards training and competition fees, medical costs, equipment, and more.
Goat Lees Primary School will be receiving an inspirational visit from Team GB Basketballer Pierre Henry-Fontaine on the 21st of May 2024 and we need your support!
The pupils will benefit from physical activity through our fitness circuit, an inspirational talk including medal display and a Q&A session.
Where does the money go?
When parents and guardians offer their support to a Sports for Champions UK (CIC) fundraising event, they are nurturing not only their children's immediate environments but also the bright futures of many rising athletes. Here is a breakdown of how your contributions make a significant difference:
For each fundraising event Sports For Champions looks to raise enough money to cover the costs that it takes to provide such an excellent service nationally. Once that goal is reached, surplus funds are allocated in a way that benefits both the school and our passionate athletes – 60% for the school’s continued growth and 40% contributing to the athlete fund.
At the core of the Sports For Champions UK (CIC) initiative is the Athlete Fund. Primarily, the fund aids schools in less economically privileged areas that might struggle with costs, ensuring that the administrative fee isn’t a barrier to vital opportunities. Additionally, it assists our dedicated athletes in moments of pressing need, whether it’s recovering from injuries, procuring advanced equipment, or embarking on warm-weather training camps. Our fundamental belief remains unwavering: no school should be compromised for its economic stance, and every promising athlete deserves a fair shot at excellence. Our commitment ensures no child or school is left behind due to circumstances beyond their control.
Challenges Athletes Face: Our partnering pro athletes and Team GB Olympians have a world of responsibilities on their shoulders. They juggle between a rigorous training schedule that demands over 35 hours a week and their personal commitments. This often leaves them with limited time and resources to focus on their careers, leading to financial constraints. Expenses for equipment, training, coaching, travel, and more pile up, making it a challenge for these athletes to perform at their best and represent Great Britain.
Why is this important?
Goat Lees Primary School is promoting health and wellbeing throughout the school and with the help of a visit from Pierre Henry-Fontaine, this will be enhanced across all year groups and staff, they are also focussing on encouraging diversity and raising the aspirations of the pupils through sport.
Goat Lees Primary School will benefit from the money raised as they will be able to provide new equipment, fund opportunities for the children, and more.
How can you help?
We're asking all parents to help make it a memorable event for the pupils with the help of Team GB Basketballer Pierre Henry-Fontaine and to raise funds for key resources for Goat Lees Primary School.
If you are a local business or a friend of the school and would like to contribute to help us get to our target then please do make a donation and share our project as far as you can.