Scuba Diving for All

Scuba Diving for All based in Ripon, Yorkshire, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

The registered charity has been running scuba diving sessions for people with severe disabilities for nearly 10 years.

The group meets twice a week at Ripon Spa Baths and can accommodate up to 10 participants per session with support from volunteers. The cost of pool hire, insurance and equipment means the charity is heavily dependent on fundraising and donations.

Archie Covell, one of the founders and director, says: “Scuba Diving for All offers people with severe disabilities the chance to try an activity that is not widely available to them.

“With this donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund we can purchase some much needed equipment. This will be a great boost to Scuba Diving for All as it means we can get more people scuba diving for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Ashley Hill

Ashley Hill from Kendal in Cumbria, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

Eighteen year old Ashley started skiing when he was just seven years old and has been hooked on the sport ever since.

Ashley was the British under 18’s Champion when he was sixteen years old and went on to win the European Indoor Championships last year. He has represented Great Britain in the Youth Winter Olympics, and hope to ski in the World Junior Championships next year. Ashley’s ultimate goal is to compete in the Winter Olympics.

With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund Ashley hopes to fund his travelling and training costs as he spends November to April in Austria and travelling around Europe. Ashley says “This will be a great boost as it means I can train for longer throughout the skiing season. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel, from me.”

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Basingstoke Gymnastics Club

Basingstoke Gymnastics Club, in Basingstoke, Hampshire, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

The application to the fund was made by members of the TeamGym squad who desperately need a new tumbling track.

TeamGym had been using a borrowed track from another club but recently had to give it back. This has left them competing for space with other users, leaving the British Junior Womens Champions and other members without valuable training time in the gym.

Claire Williams, Head of TeamGym at Basingstoke Gymnastics Club, says: “With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund Basingstoke TeamGym finally has their own tumbling track. We want to build on our success as British Champions and now we can thanks to the donation towards this much needed piece of equipment.

“This will be a great boost to Basingstoke Gymnastics Club as it means we can jump, flip and tumble for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Chalfont Softball Club

Chalfont Softball Club, based in Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

Founded in 2003, the club was the first to obtain Clubmark accreditation for Softball and currently has 45 active members aged between 18 and 50.

After a successful summer running taster sessions for Chalfont St. Peter Youth Centre and The Beaconsfield School, their aim is to entice more people into playing the sport regularly, through taster sessions.

The club is run entirely by volunteers meaning the successful running of the taster sessions is wholly dependent on the goodwill of the coaches donating their free time.

The donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund will pay for two club coaches to run 10 one hour taster sessions.

Clare Williams, club member, says: “With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund we can now afford to pay our coaches to run taster sessions.

“This will be a great boost to Chalfont Softball Club as it means we can bring new talent and energy to the club and play for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Daniel Davies

Daniel Davies from Treherbert in Wales, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

20 year old Daniel first gave the seated shot putt and club throw a try four years ago and has been passionate about the sport ever since.

Daniel, who has cerebral palsy and has recently been diagnosed with vasculitus, trains five times a week including four gym sessions, one pool session and two technical throw sessions.

With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund, Daniel hopes to buy new equipment such as kettle bell weights, to aide his training.

Daniel says: “The money will really help with my training sessions as I can now buy new equipment to help me train for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Mellor Lacrosse Club

Mellor Lacrosse Club, based in Mellor, near Stockport, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

The club has a strong heritage in the area with a history that spans 80 years and currently lists more than 200 members. The 11 teams feature a broad age range of players, and include players selected for county and national squads.

The donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund will be used to buy much needed kit for the under 19s team. To date, the team with players aged from 15-19, have been using left over kit from the junior and senior teams.

Jeremy Cooper, team manager, says: “The under 19s team has been dressed in a harlequin assortment of leftover kit from our junior and senior teams.

“With this donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund we can purchase new kit so the players can look and feel like the strong team they are. This will be a great boost to Mellor Lacrosse Club as it means we can play longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Wigton Squash Club

Wigton Squash Club, based at Wigton Rugby Club, Cumbria, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

Established in 1971 the club has a long history of developing talented young players and celebrated its 40th Anniversary in April.

The club has had great success with players representing Cumbria and the North West area. One member reached the national top 10 at both U15 and U17 in recent years.

Younger members enjoy playing the sport so much that they recently took part in a charity marathon; playing squash for 24 hours non-stop raising over £1500.

To keep members at the top of their game, the club needs to train and develop its coaches.

With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund, Wigton Squash Club can now invest in developing the skills of its coaches.

John Honeyman, chairman of Wigton Squash Club, says: “Thanks to the MARS Refuel Drink Fund we can continue to provide top level coaching to our enthusiastic members. We are a club focused on offering young people the opportunity to increase their fitness and personal development through sport.

“This will be a great boost to Wigton Squash Club as it means we can develop more coaches and so bring more youngsters into the game. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Lucy Pallett

Lucy Pallett, from Nuneaton, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

16 year old school-girl Lucy has been playing squash since the age of 11, and quickly discovered her genuine passion for the sport. She is currently Warwickshire Champion at Under 17s and part of the Warwickshire Girls Team who have been national champions on 4 occasions.

Lucy trains at Cleaver Squash Club in Nuneaton, which is currently the training base for 3 other top England ranked juniors who all share the same Head Coach, Andy Pallett.

At the moment Lucy is completely self-funded, meaning travel to and from competitions along with entry fees are a huge cost to her and her family.

The donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund will help Lucy to cover some of the costs involved with competing in European tournaments. She would like to compete against the best junior players in Europe and hopes to turn pro in a few years.

Lucy says: “I am delighted with the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund. I am really passionate about playing Squash and hope to compete professionally when I reach 19.

“With this donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund I can now enter more tournaments which will offer me great exposure and help improve my game. This will be a great boost to me as it means I can play Squash for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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Cobnor Activities Centre Trust

Cobnor Activities Centre Trust, based in the Chichester Harbour area of outstanding national beauty, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

The not-for-profit charity provides young people with the opportunity to participate in a range of challenging water and land-based outdoor activities, including sailing, canoeing, kayaking, mountain biking, climbing and archery.

The centre has recently completed a major refit and now offers some of the best outdoor activity facilities on the south coast. With ever-increasing public demand, the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund means the charity can now purchase additional state-of-the-art weather monitoring equipment.

Mark Murray-Brown, Centre Manager, says: “Cobnor Activities Centre is delighted with the award from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund. The new kit will enable our Instructors to plan our water-based coaching more accurately, as well as helping our young students to understand the effect of weather conditions when planning to go afloat.”

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Northampton Fencing Club

Northampton Fencing Club, based at Moulton College, Northampton, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.

Founded in 1947, the club became a registered charity in 2008 and has 60 full time members attending weekly fencing sessions and training.

The club also actively promotes grass roots fencing at local school and colleges, giving young people the opportunity to participate in a sport not usually available to them.

The donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund will help the club purchase new beginner level equipment, so they can continue to run taster sessions across Northamptonshire.

Nicholas Partridge, team coach, says: “With the donation from the MARS Refuel Drink Fund we will be able to purchase new kit and equipment so we can offer more people in the area the chance to try fencing.

“This will be a great boost to Northampton Fencing Club as it means we can fence for longer. A big thank you goes out to MARS Refuel.”

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