Two Ross youngsters were among the ten local young sports stars to receive funds from Ready, Steady, Win this year, to help their continued development.

Brad Knapper is a 15-year-old golfer who has broken into the Gloucestershire team. Max Buckland is a member of the rugby academy at Worcester Warriors.

The awards, presented by the Herefordshire Sports Bursary organisation Ready, Steady, Win were made at a celebration event at the Three Counties Hotel, in the presence of Hereford Paralympian, Sascha Kindred OBE.

Sascha has once again been selected to swim for Great Britain at the Paralympics in Rio, his sixth Paralympics. Sascha’s remarkable Paralympic record features twelve medals, including six golds.

He gave an inspirational talk to the youngsters and their parents. Sascha also encouraged the recipients to keep on training and competing to ensure they maximised their potential. In addition, he praised their parents for their dedication and support.

Ready, Steady, Win has been in operation since 1993 and since that time has supported hundreds of young athletes across Herefordshire in their pursuit of sporting excellence. The bursary scheme will close at the end of this year, but there is still time to submit an application. To proceed, complete the ‘Contact Us’ form at www.readysteadywin.org.uk

Martin Hudson, Chair of Ready, Steady, Win told the Ross Gazette: “We are encouraging as many young sports people of Herefordshire as possible to apply in this last round of bursaries before we close down. After 23 years we want to go out on a high in this Olympic and Paralympic year.

“We accept applications from young sports people who are currently competing at county level and above and need support with training, competition and equipment costs.”