Hi. My name is Mary and my daughter needs your help!

Ava has been called back to trial in the second round for the Under 19 GB Handball squad. If successful, she will be travelling to Bosnia in May to compete. She represented England last summer in Denmark in an international tournament and will be competing there again this summer as part of the only team to represent England there this year. Ava has also represented her school, Trinity RC School, Nottingham, the county, is the first girl from Nottingham to be part of the England Handball regional academy and National Academy and has also played for Notts County in a Premier league for sports tournament. Late last year Ava was fortunate to be selected as a finalist in the Education Awards in the Sporting Achievement category. Ava now plays for Shropshire Handball Club, travelling each weekend to Telford to train, whilst studying for her A levels and also the ASE Sporting Excellence Programme with England Handball. This course is held in Stoke Mandeville and is for athletes who play Handball and show a talent in the sport to progress further. Only 40 students are selected each year for this programme.

As you can imagine, the cost for Ava to maintain her involvement in her chosen sport can be considerable. Just this month alone, we have to fund new kit, overseas training camps, travel and accommodation, training and competition fees, the list goes on!

We are hoping you could donate or sponsor Ava to help raise funds to support her with these ongoing costs. We have held various fundraising events ourselves but friends and family can only offer financial support for a limited time. Handball is not as well known as other team sports so finding financial support has proved very difficult.

If this is something you could help with or if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards