The Suffolk SportsAid Foundation was launched on Thursday 20th December 2007.  It is a joint initiative between SportsAid, the national charity for sports people, Suffolk Sport and ‘Rising to the Challenge Suffolk’, the campaign to maximise the benefits for Suffolk from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

SportsAid is the national charity for sports people and is the only UK charity directly helping talented young British sportsmen and women. Their research identifies that on average each athlete spends nearly £5,000 per year on equipment, training, travelling and all of the other essentials that are required for competing at the top level.

More often than not their only sponsors are Mum and Dad so every bit of independent recognition and financial help that the young athlete gets at this stage makes a world of difference.

Lottery funding has helped British sport enormously in recent years, but it cannot fund every aspect of sport, and this money rarely trickles down to individuals in the 12-16 year-old group and that’s why their work is so vital and why Suffolk has teamed up with SportsAid to establish a sports foundation for the County.