This year has been a tricky one for all of us, but it is undeniable that the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the charity sector particularly hard. In the snow sports world, one organisation particularly feeling the effects of this is The Ellie Soutter Foundation.
Following the tragic death of Team GB athlete Ellie Soutter on her 18th birthday, The Ellie Soutter Foundation was founded to help talented young winter sports athletes achieve their full potential, providing both financial and mental support to help them reach their dreams of high level competition.
Ellie Soutter
Ellie’s families’ incredible fundraising in her memory has already provided invaluable support to a number of young athletes, including snowboarders Mia Brookes, Maisie Hill, Charlie Lane, Maisie Potter and mono bobsleigher Eire Rowland-Evans.
They provide support through funding initiatives, mental health awareness and a full mind and body package, in order to coach them through the pressures of professional competition.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the charity sector and The Ellie Soutter Foundation is now facing difficulties when it comes to providing the best support to these athletes.
They are now hoping that the winter sports community will be able to come together and help them continue making a difference to our future Winter Olympians.
To enable this, the Foundation have created a new range of different funding packages for all budgets for both private individuals and businesses, with many benefits for sponsors.
Your support can make a huge difference to a talented young winter sports athlete on an Olympic pathway, with the ability to sponsor them and watch their progress as they work their way towards the Games. For many of these athletes, getting to the Winter Olympics would seem a long way off without yours and the Foundation’s help.
To shed a bit more light on exactly how the foundation helps young athletes, we caught up with Maisie Potter and Charlie Lane, to find out exactly how they have benefitted from the Foundation’s support:
What does the funding from the Ellie Soutter Foundation really mean?
Charlie: It helps provide the opportunity to stay out in the mountains. It’s obviously so expensive and it’s a struggle for my family – my mum and dad are working really hard to keep me out here, so it’s a real relief as well.
Maisie: It’s not just financially either, but that contact and the fact they are pushing for me… So in Morzine they’ve sorted me out a gym, a massage, a physio, so its just having that contact that really helps.
What’s your goal for the next two years?
Maisie: My goal is to go to the Olympics next February in Beijing, and obviously I don’t want to limit myself on where I have to train or how many days on snow I can have. I want to have as many as everyone else who are fully funded, I don’t want to disadvantage myself. So this financial backing just means I can do as many days on snow as anyone else.
Is there anything you’re doing right now that you may not have been doing was it not for the Foundation?
Charlie: Right now, I probably wouldn’t even be here without the Foundation. I’m abroad more than I’m in England, so the funding they give me has really helped with my training and I can progress way more thanks to it.
To find out more about the funding packages or learn more about The Ellie Soutter Foundation, head to: theelliesoutter.foundation
