QMS Award Enables Local Club to Introduce Their Sport to Schools

The North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club has notched up yet another success this year, but this time it is not for winning a tournament.

Earlier in the year, the Club’s former Head Coach, Billy Main, applied for a new sport and healthy living bursary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). QMS worked with sportscotland and launched the ‘Go for It Scotland!’ Programme earlier this year to award twenty £500 bursaries. .

Jennifer Robertson, QMS Health and Education Coordinator is a qualified dietician and she visited the Club to present a framed certificate to three of the Clubs international players, brothers Chris (24) and Richard (21) Main, and Jill Taylor (15).

Jennifer commented: “The judging panel was really impressed at the high standard of all the applications and this made it a really tough job for the judging panel.

“In their application, the Club explained that they would use the £500 award to pay for coaching at ‘grass roots’ level and to buy basic equipment.”

One of the aims of the Club is to target youngsters from Primary 4 to 7 by introducing table tennis to schools as a new sport, with the objective of setting up after school clubs in North Ayrshire.

In the Club’s application, former Head Coach Billy Main stated: “The funding will be used by two qualified coaches and Scottish Internationalists, under the guidance of Head Coach, Chis Main, to cover the costs of twenty four sessions over a 12-week period and to buy table tennis bats and balls.”

Jennifer explained that QMS undertakes a range of health and education activities with the aim of encouraging awareness of the importance of red meat in a healthy, balanced diet and an understanding of where food comes from.

“Anyone could apply for a “Go for It Scotland!” bursary, provided they live and train in Scotland and their sport or healthy activity increases their heart rate. The bursary can be used to fund equipment, specialist clothing, travel, training, nutrition, coaching or to set up or develop a new or existing group or club.

“The North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club certainly made a great case in their application, with the Club having twenty adult and seventy five junior members from 7 to 83 years of age.”

When the application form asked for more information about the Club, Billy wrote: “Table tennis is fun for all the family, no matter what age they are, and our aim is to encourage active participation in our sport within the community that is North Ayrshire. The sport is physically demanding and keeps everyone active.”

The judging panel believed the Go for It Scotland! £500 Bursary would help the Club meet these objectives.

Caption:Pictured left to right: Jill Taylor (15), Richard Main (21),Head Coach Chris Main (24) and QMS Health and Education Coordinator, Jennifer Robertson.