RPMF Grant Awards 2022

2022 marks the 31st year of Ron Pickering Memorial Fund Grants to young athletes. In the more that 30 years since the death of the renowned Coach and Commentator in February of 1991, the RPMF has been able to support thousands of young athletes with Grants totaling more than £2 million.

Like many other charities, the impact of the Covid Pandemic on our Fundraising activities over the past years has been very difficult for the RPMF.

It was only because of the incredible efforts of our “Ronners” running in the delayed 2021 London Marathon, that we are able to offer so many RPMF Grants this year.

In what continued to be a difficult year for all athletes with uncertainties around Covid and competitions, we received over 450 applications during October and November of 2021.  After much deliberation, the RPMF was able to award a total amount of nearly £40,000 in grants to 178 talented young British athletes.

Among the grant recipients this year were a number of young athletes that made a major step forwards in 2021, including European Under 23 Champions Isobel Boffey and Jeremiah Azu, and European U20 Champions Ed Faulds, and Megan Keith who come on strong at the end of the year to take the European Cross Country title..

This year it is pleasing for us to see 19 awards to athletes with a disability, slightly more that 10% of the total awards, including grants to Race-Runners Gavin Drysdale and Thomas Talbot.

With 57% of awards to male athletes and 43% to female recipients, just over 32% of the recipients were aged 17 or under, a further 30% aged 18-19 years with the remaining 38% to athletes aged 20yrs or over, there was good distribution across both age and sex.

Distribution among events groups was:

Sprints:                   25%

Hurdles:                  10%

Middle Distance:   15%

Long Distance:       10%

Jumps:                     15%

Throws:                    16%

Multi-Events:             9%

With good distribution around the country and almost 100 clubs with athletes receiving 2022 RPMF Grants, the highest number of awards went to members of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers with 10 recipients, including European Junior Bronze Medallist Henry McLuckie, and Javelin Thrower Daniel Bainbridge.

They were closely followed by Newham and Essex Beagles with 9 recipients including Multi Eventer Jade O’Dowda and hammer thrower Katie Head.   It was also great to see Scottish Club, Giffnock North, with 5 grant winners including promising decathlete: Murray Fotheringham.

You can find the full list of the 2022 grants recipients here.