Maisy Metcalfe

Our latest grant goes to 11 year old Maisy Metcalfe, from Bromborough. Maisy is a talented netball player with Wirral Gems, and also a volunteer coach at her former Primary School, Poulton Lancelyn.  She has now qualified for the Elite Merseyside under-13 squad, and the Foundation is helping to fund kit, County Fees and Performance Camps.

Well done, and welcome, Maisy!

Joe Cosgrove

Ally Howitt

Our new netball girl Ally Howitt, the younger sister of Eva, played for Scotland in an International Tournament in Gibraltar last week…. and Scotland won the silver medal. 

Even more exciting, Ally won the player of the tournament award!

Lucy Murphy

Great news from our young cricket star Lucy Murphy, Lucy has been voted Lancashire Cricket Girls Under 11s Player of the Year.

The picture above shows Lucy being presented with her trophy by Lancashire Cricket star Phoebe Graham.

Excellent news, Lucy, many congratulations.

Here is Lucy, after scoring her maiden 50 for Lancashire under 11s, she then took 5 wickets for the under 13s, for Lancashire against Yorkshire in the recent Scarborough Festival.

Mark The Memories Junior Tournament

MEF Secretary Phil with banner

Anna Edwards with organiser Jenny Taylor

Mark The Memories Helpers

Squad from Wrexham

This year’s Mark The Memories Junior Tournament, held at Chesterfield High School in Crosby, was a great success, with over 70 Netball teams entered and over 1,000 people attending, including clubs from the Isle of Man, Wrexham and Bury as well as from across Merseyside.  The event raised valuable funds to enable the Foundation to continue supporting worthy youngsters.

Renee Adams

Congratulations to Renee Adams, who won gold in the 100m and 200m at the recent Merseyside Championship under 15s competition.

Eva Howitt

The Trustees welcome Eva Howitt to the Foundation.

Eva lives on the Wirral and plays netball for Chester Netball Club and Leeds Rhinos U17’s and also this year she has played for Scotland U17’s at Netball Europe, which was held in Belfast.

Some excellent news – Eva has been selected for Scotland U18’s Netball Team to compete at The Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago in August 2023.

Well done, Eva and we hope that you have a great (and successful) time at The Commonwealth Youth Games.

Gabriella Monks

Gabriella at Solway Golf Club

Congratulations to Gabriella won the best gross score in the Under 14’s at  Solway Golf Club in Silloth for the PING Golf Europe Junior Golf Championship! (Northern Junior Tour)

Gabriella also managed to secure her place in the Major Championship Finals at Woodhall Spa Golf Course this coming August 

Good luck at Woodhall Spa, Gabriella……..🏆!

!

Joe Cosgrove

Joe crossing the winning line on Snaefell summit

Great News…. Joe Cosgrove, the cyclist from Formby supported by the Foundation, has won the Isle of Man Junior Tour!

Vanessa Zeica

Congratulations to Vanessa for winning the Under 10 tournament held at Rippon in March.

Vanessa has made much progress in the past year and is currently competing at national level, there are only about 30 players, in her age group, who are ranked highly enough and accepted for this level of competition.

Vanessa had won or has been runner up in many competitions in the past year. Her efforts had been recognised by LTA and she regularly attends regional training camps, the most recent camp was in Corby.

Vanessa has the opportunity to be selected for the LTA National Pathway by the end of June this year.

The Mark Edwards Foundation continues to support Vanessa and is delighted to learn of her dedication and determination in practice session as well tournaments.

More great news about our little tennis superstar Vanessa Zeica from Southport. 

This from Vannessa’s father:

Hi Phil, hope you are all well just wanted to let you and the Foundation know about Vanessa.

First of all thank you for your support in the last two years, it has made a big difference for Vanessa.

With her hard work and great results on the tennis court she has been recognised by LTA and has been selected for their training programme for year 2023/2024 starting in September.

There are only 13 full time programme players at Bolton Arena Tennis Academy from age groups 10 to 14 years of age and Vanessa is going to be one of those players.

Vanessa competed in National Championships that were held at Edinburgh, making into quarter finals and finishing at the high 7th place in the country.

She played some great tennis over those 2 days, and managed to beat some top players including the girl who was runner up in the final.

Another good thing happened yesterday, Vanessa won the regional tournament called Bridge of Allan Open in Dunblane, home town of one the greatest tennis players Andy Murray, and held at Andy’s Murray’s childhood tennis club.

Vanessa played some great tennis and managed to win all her 3 matches and lifting the trophy. Great effort from her in last month.

Beth Pavey

The Foundation is pleased to announce that Beth Pavey, the trampolinist from Crosby sponsored by the Foundation, came 3rd in the recent Belfast tournament and has qualified for the National finals, to be held later this year in Northampton.

Good luck, Beth!

Lucy Murphy

Lucy’s father, Steve Murphy, has updated the Foundation on Lucy’s progress:-

“With the Foundation’s kind support Lucy attended a 12 week winter development programme in preparation for her Lancashire cricket trials.

 “I’m delighted to inform you that Lucy was successful and was selected for Lancashire Girls Under 11s Squad for 2023.”

Excellent news, well done Lucy!

Joe Cosgrove

Well done to cyclist Joe Cosgrove who recently attained third place in the North West Youth Tour TT Race.

Above, Joe is photographed during the race.

Vanessa Zelca

Many congratulations to Vanessa Zelca, our tennis star, who has retained both her under 9 singles and doubles Lancashire County Championship winners titles.  Vanessa is shown here with both her trophies.

Scarlett Burton

Scarlett and her mum, Lyndsay

Scarlett, her mum, and Tony, Scarlett’s trainer

At a recent visit to Crossfit Gym in Aintree, MEF Secretary, Phil Pellow, met 14 year old Scarlett Burton, our latest Foundation supported youngster, her mum, Lyndsay and Tony her trainer.

Phil reports “Scarlett is a lovely girl with a very pleasant personality, she is going to Holland in a couple of weeks to compete at European level in Crossfit”. 

The Foundation has agreed to help Scarlett with her gym fees for the next year, and we wish her well in future competitions.

Mia Evans

Abigail Martin

Vanessa Leica

Vanessa Leica, the young tennis player recently sponsored by the Foundation, is a member of the Lancashire Tennis Team that has qualified for the National County Championships which are to be held on 24th April.

Many congratulations, Vanessa!

Archie Llewellyn

Reece Kanu

Many congratulations to Reece upon recently becoming Merseyside and Cheshire champion.

Reece being declared Champion

Reece with his Championship medal and corner staff

Vanessa Zelca – County Tennis Champion

Vanessa Zelca is the tennis Lancashire County Champion for girls aged 8 and under, also she has been selected to represent Lancashire in the LTA Junior County Cup for girls 9 and under.

Vanessa’s parents, Marcis and Anna, and brother Daniel, are making a new life for themselves in the Northwest of England after coming from Latvia.

Vanessa has already won three tennis titles recently.

We wish this young star well and The Foundation is proud to support her.

Vanessa with Judith Heaton and coach Chris Parkes

Vanessa with mum Anna, dad Marcis and brother Daniel

Letter From Rhea Kanu

Hello it’s Rhea from Kirkdale A.B.C,

I would just like to say thank you for what you’ve done for me as a sponsor. It’s really helped support me towards my training and to get to the nationals, sadly coming off on the wrong side of a split decision in the semi-finals in Oxfordshire but it’s still a great achievement for me, especially with it being my first time entering the competition. However, still training hard and preparing for the next championships at the start of next year.

Also, the calendars are amazing.

Thank you again,

Rhea Kanu.

Rhea and Reece Kanu

We are delighted to welcome to the Foundation brother and sister Reece and Rhea Kanu, from Kirkdale Boxing Club, aged 18 and 17 respectively.

They are two very impressive young people; their coach tells us they volunteer with the youngsters in the ‘little rockies’ sessions before they do their own training, and they also help out with the Inclusive Hub which is run by Gerard Starkey at Rotunda Boxing Club [we gave a grant to this group last year].

Reece is studying Sports Science at John Moores University, and Rhea studying the same at College.

Reece has a chance for the Olympic Boxing Development Squad this year, and coach Paul Davis tells us that this is the plan for Rhea for next year – they are both considered to be very talented.

New Advertising Board at Northern Cricket Club

Our grateful thanks to Northern Cricket Club for allowing the Foundation to display a large advertising board at pitch side for the forthcoming season.

Mark was very close to Northern, having captained the first eleven in the Liverpool Competition, and it’s wonderful to see this close association being continued.

Joe Cosgrove selected for the 2021 Dolan Ellesse Cycling Team

The Foundation is delighted to hear that Joe Cosgrove has been selected by the Dolan Ellesse Cycling team for 2021 – well done, Joe!

2021 looks very promising for both Joe and Dolan Ellesse.

Festive Junior Tennis Coaching Sessions – by Mike Harrison

A series of festive junior coaching sessions were held at Liverpool Cricket Club – Tennis Section – in December, they were kindly funded by the Mark Edwards Foundation.

Despite the atrocious conditions over 50 players attended and were rewarded with an hour of festive tennis fun and a Christmas selection box.

Our thanks go to all to attended and to our We Do Tennis partners, especially Paul and Jay who managed the sessions in a COVID-19 compliant, welcoming and safe manner, despite the courts being flooded and extremely slippy!

Following the success of the junior coaching sessions and with requests from the parents/carers of those juniors who attended, it is intended to organise a series of Family Sessions in January.

Details will be released once the COVID-19 restrictions are removed….watch this space.

Letter from Joe Cosgrove

Dear the Mark Edwards Foundation,

I am writing to express my thanks regarding the grant I was given a couple months ago.

The grant was used to buy a power meter to help with my training. A power meter is a device on a bicycle that measures the power output of the rider in Watts.

The use of the power meter has improved my cycling performance significantly. Allowing me to pace myself using specific power settings and also makes my training sessions far more structured and easier to understand.

The use of a power meter has helped me to learn about analysing my power data and how it relates to my training plan. My power meter could be thought of as a reference, helping me to compare myself to where I am now with my training and where I’m aiming to be in the future.

All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the help and assistance of The Mark Edwards Foundation so I thank The Foundation for the grant.

During lockdown I have not been able to race or ride competitively and I’ve not been able to ride as a part of a group. Therefore the grant for the power meter has been greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Joe Cosgrove

SCARLETT AWOYALE

From L-R: Rachal, Scarlett’s mum; Lorraine, Scarlett’s coach; Scarlett, herself and Edward Murphy, MEF Chairman

Scarlett, 10, is a Mixed Martial Arts student at the Senshi Academy in Widnes.

Scarlett’s trainers and staff at the Senshi Academy are delighted on how well she has done and how far she has come in a very short space of time, due to all her hard work and total commitment.

Scarlett has been chosen to compete in the Top Fighter Team GB Mixed Martial Arts 2020 Tournaments, her very busy schedule for 2020 includes several away tournaments, including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol and Florida, USA.

The Mark Edwards Foundation has awarded Scarlett a grant of to cover her Senshi Academy subs for the year.

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MONTANA LEITH-MULLEY

Montana, 12, is a gymnast from Solihull, West Midlands; her coach says of her ‘Dedication, commitment, motivation and teamwork are just some of the words that best describe Montana’

Montana has been entered for both the British and English Championships this year, by the City of Birmingham Gymnastics Club.

She trains five days a week during the evenings and also at weekends.

Montana has been selected for summer training in Portugal and The Mark Edwards Foundation has funded this training.

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Isobel Pink

Isobel is a 12 years old gymnast and since July 2017 she has amazed all her coaches at her gym by going from level 5 to performing at Federation International de Gymnastique (FIG) skills.

In 2020 Isobel will be entered into the women’s English Championships by The Falcons Gymnastics Academy, Barnstaple, Devon despite her very young age.

She is hoping to make the British Championships in 2021, and has a high chance of getting to the Olympics in 2024.

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Clark Lawless

Clark Lawless is a student at Wirral Metropolitan College studying Outdoor Education at Level 3. Clark, a keen kayaker, is a member of the Boys Brigade Canoe Club and wishes to become a White Water Trainer.
The Mark Edwards Foundation has funded Clark’s White Water Leader Training course and wishes him every success.

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George Crompton Receives Trophies

At a recent presentation day at West Lancashire Golf Club, George received his Match Play Trophy as well as a Trophy for The Most Improved Boy of 12 years and under. During George’s acceptance speech he thanked The Mark Edwards Foundation for their support.

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Sportsman’s Lunch at the Northern Cricket Club

James Cole (Northern Cricket Club), Anna Edwards and Graeme Sharp

On the 30th August the Northern Cricket Club hosted a Sportsman’s lunch starring former Everton star Graeme Sharp, to benefit both the Northern Junior Section and the Mark Edwards Foundation.

The lunch was a great success, raising a fantastic £1000 for the Foundation.

The Foundation would like to thank the Northern CC, and in particular, James Cole and Anthony Coyne, for this wonderful gesture – helping the Mark Edwards Foundation help others.

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George Crompton

More success for George Crompton! He recently won the Gross Junior Club Championships at West Derby. Well done George – keep making The Mark Edwards Foundation proud!

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Coady Boyd – Olympic Style Taekwondo 

Anna with Coady

15 yr old Coady Boyd has been competing in Olympic style Taekwondo for the last 11 years. He is the current National Champion gold medalist and recently won a silver medal in Slovenia fighting against top athletes from across Europe.

 Coady’s dream is to compete at the Olympics and to be a full time athlete at the GB Academy in Manchester. He has recently been selected by Great Britain for the forthcoming European Junior Championships in Spain in October 2019.

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Will Eskrick – Mixed Martial Arts

Pictured L-R: Sally Dodgson [Will’s mum], Will, Anna Edwards [Trustee], Ally Edwards

We are proud to announce Will as our seventh youngster to be supported by the Foundation.  Will has a remarkable talent for Mixed Martial Arts, and has recently been selected for the England National Team – he will be flying to Rome soon to represent his Country.

Will is 13 years of age, and before taking up MMA Will was being bullied at school, very quiet, low confidence & self esteem – and also suffered with Processing Dyslexia. In 3 years working with Mixed Martial Arts, he has blossomed into a confident young man.

Will is currently National Junior Silver medallist in BJJ [Brazilian Ju-Jitsu], and World Junior Silver medallist in BJJ under the Elite Promotion. He also holds current British Open Gold medal at under 63kg, and silver at over 63kg, along with a host of MMA Trophies.

The Foundation has agreed to fund part of Will’s membership fees, and we wish him well for the future!

Good Luck in Rome!

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Charlie Kelly with coach Mike Harrison (R) and MEF Chairman Edward Murphy

18 year old Charlie Kelly has shown commendable fortitude in battling his way through debilitating illness and is now using his experience to help others overcome their mobility obstacles.

Charlie was born with Muscular atrophy and cerebral palsy and was unable to walk until he was 4 years old, even then he found any movement difficult and was confined to a wheelchair until he was 10.

Despite being unable to walk unaided into his teenage years Charlie was determined not to be beaten by his illness and is now pursuing a career as a sports coach focusing on helping others with mobility issues to enjoy sport.

Charlie has already qualified as a Level 2 FA coach and is extending his qualifications, via a Mark Edwards Foundation grant, to include tennis as he is now an integral part of the tennis section coaching team at Liverpool Cricket Club.

Our congratulations and best wishes go to Charlie as he uses his knowledge and experience to help others to enjoy sport.

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Henry Nwoke

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Henry with Barbara

Henry Nwoke only started training for athletics in June 2017 aged 15 after winning the South Liverpool Schools 100m. In Henry’s school his maths teacher, already an established coach at Liverpool Harriers, asked him to train with him.

For the rest of that summer Henry improved in every race, starting with 11.5 seconds and finishing the season on a truly impressive 10.87 seconds to be ranked top of the country for 15 year olds. 

After finishing the season on a high note, Henry went onto his first winter training. He got through the hard slog of training and into the indoor season, picking up where he left off. Again he improved in every race, culminating in him topping the national rankings and winning the England Championships for 60m and 200m in times of 6.91s and 21.85s, these times ranking him 15th and 12th respectively in history for the UK in the under 17 age group.

The future looks bright for Henry and as we approach the summer season we will be hoping for great things.

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Isaac Morgan

Isaac With Dance Teacher Miss Lorna

Isaac Morgan is aged 9, he has a Passion for dance, in particular ballet.

A pupil at St Edmund’s School in Waterloo, his dream is to become a professional ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet Company. He needs help with travel costs to his lessons in Manchester, dance fees, and accommodation pre auditions.

His mother constantly raises fund throughout the year, but this does not cover all his cost needs. The Foundation has agreed to make a grant to Isaac for the year, to cover his fees which are not covered by his bursary.

Isaac will be auditioning for the Royal Ballet next year, and we wish him well in achieving his dreams.

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Ruby ONeill has been selected to be a member of REDS

Ruby ONeill has been selected to be a member of REDS (Regional England Development Squad) for Judo.  She has to travel to monthly events rotated between St Helens, Goole, Tynemouth and Walsall which incur a cost for travel expenses.

She is also attending a judo tournament in Copenhagen over Easter weekend, for which her parents have had to fund flights, accommodation and entrance fee to the competition.

This is the second year she has been selected for REDs and she is also in the North West Squad as she finished first in the regional IPPON league.

Ruby is a 12 year old girl from Litherland who attends Hawthorns School in Bootle. ”’

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George Crompton

George Crompton, aged 8, has become the second youngster to receive a grant from the Foundation. George is a talented young golfer who is top of the European Order of Merit for his age, and a member of the West Lancashire Club, where Mark Edwards was a member himself.

George is pictured outside the Club, and also with Phil Pellow, Secretary of the Foundation.  We wish him well, and look forward to hearing of more success for this talented young golfer.

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Rhys Griffiths becomes the first recipient of a grant from the Foundation

11 yr old Rhys Griffiths of the Rotunda Amateur Boxing Club has become the first young person to benefit from a grant from the Foundation. He was recommended to us by trainer Gerard Starkey, who told us that Rhys never missed a training session and was determined and talented.

Pictured here [L-R] are Anna Edwards [Trustee] Tori Edwards, Barbara Edwards [Trustee] Rhys, and Gerard Starkey, at the recent presentation ceremony at Rotunda  Boxing Club.

Good luck, Rhys!

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…More money raised – A Mudder Story

On September 8th, some of Mark’s friends took part in the Tough Mudder Full NW Challenge event at Cholmondely Castle in Cheshire, to raise money for cancer charities.

The event comprised a challenging course comprising 10 miles and 24 obstacles, and this was completed by MEF Trustees Andy Jackson and Andy Healey, along with Stu Gray, Rob Griffiths, Neil Magennis, Ste Lewis and Gary Walsh.

Andy Jackson, Andy Healey and Gary Walsh raised £2,850 for Woodlands Hospice in memory of Mark and also Fiona McQuigg Kearney, a friend who sadly passed away this year at Woodlands.

Stu, along with help from Ste Lewis and Bellway Homes, raised £19,010 for cancer research.

Well done all round!

Copyright 2017-2024 Mark Edwards Foundation

Registered charity in England and Wales No. 1185769