Mary Peters Trust has announced that Garvagh rowing teen, Rachel Bradley (18), was recently selected to receive a £500 bursary from Hughes Insurance, as part of an ongoing partnership with the insurance broker.
Rachel, who started rowing at 12 years of age, has just arrived at Newcastle University – one of the leading British University Rowing Programmes supported by British Rowing – where she will be part of a high-performance training squad and have the opportunity to try out for the chance to represent her country at U23 level and beyond.
Lady Mary Peters said: “Rachel is a wonderful ambassador for Northern Ireland so I have no doubt she will represent Northern Ireland’s young sporting talent really well in Newcastle. I commend her for her commitment to rowing over the last six years and look forward to watching her achieve as the next few years go by. She was a really deserving recipient of the Hughes Insurance bursary and I am delighted that my Trust can support athletes like her through this important partnership.”
Rachel’s training schedule will intensify and include weight sessions around five times a week, indoor rowing twice per week and on the water sessions around three times per week, often all before her studies begin for the day. The £500 bursary provided by Hughes Insurance allowed Rachel to relocate to the National Rowing Centre in Cork this past summer to train for the Junior World Rowing Championships.
Commenting on being selected, Rachel said: “I have been feeling really proud of myself since I received the Mary Peters Bursary. It gave me encouragement knowing that the selection panel believed in my potential to achieve and go further in my sport. It came at a really useful time as I relocated to the National Rowing Centre in Cork this summer and it helped pay for my accommodation and travel, and also helped me to compete in the Junior World Rowing Championships in August where Holly Davis and I placed third in the Women’s Double Sculls event.
“I’ve had a really good year and have won bronze and silver at multiple nationwide events. I’m delighted that not being able to train on the water during most of Covid hasn’t affected my strength. I love competing and am really excited for the high-level regattas to come as I continue my sporting journey. Travelling to events is one of the best things about my sport because you get to meet so many like-minded people from all over the world and it’s a really special feeling representing Northern Ireland.”
The Mary Peters Trust is the only province-wide organisation to provide support to young athletes from all recognised sports and bursary programmes such as its current partnership with Hughes Insurance contribute significantly to its goals.
Harriet McCandless, Senior Marketing Manager at Hughes Insurance said: “Hughes Insurance is big on community and supporting young athletes is a wonderful way for us to share our commitment to people across Northern Ireland. Mary Peters and her Trust do incredibly valuable work promoting sport to young people and supporting our young athletes who don’t always get the credit they deserve. We are delighted that our continued partnership with Mary Peters Trust allows it to continue doing its great work.”
The remaining bursary recipients will be selected by Mary Peters Trust and announced throughout 2021. To keep up to date with the selection, visit hughesinsurance.co.uk, and for more on the Mary Peters Trust, visit marypeterstrust.org
