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England Rugby Union World Cup winner Kyran Bracken MBE has become the latest in a long line of sporting celebrities to throw his weight behind up and coming sportsmen and women from Suffolk.
Bracken, one of England’s rugby heroes at the 2003 Rugby World Cup and former England captain, was in Ipswich on Friday (4th October) as guest of honour at the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club.
The Club, led by eight standout local businesses – StrategiQ Marketing Ltd, Beckett Investment Management Group, Handelsbanken, Fenn Wright Surveyors and Agents, Waller Transport Services, Ensors Chartered Accountants, Ellisons Solicitors and Pound Gates Chartered Insurance Brokers – raises money to help talented young sportsmen and women from Suffolk achieve their sporting dreams.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Gavin Wood, Head of Private Clients at Beckett Financial Services, said, “Suffolk is full of amazing talent. To see young sportsmen and women that have been supported through our fundraising efforts go on and achieve on the biggest stages in the world is awe inspiring. To think that three of the five athletes from Suffolk that took part in this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games had been supported by SportsAid shows our support is getting to the right athletes at the right time.”
Besides entertaining the audience with anecdotes from his illustrious career, Bracken, who is also renowned for winning the 2007 ITV series of Dancing on Ice, presented SportsAid grants to two young athletes from the county – Charlie Beeton and Hamish Collingridge – to help them with the cost of training and competing at an elite level.
Charlie is a bowler. He became British Isles and National Under 18 Singles champion and was part of the successful England Under 18 International squad in 2023. Hamish represented Great Britain at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Lake Garda, Italy earlier this year.
Following receipt of the grant, Charlie said “I’d like to thank everyone involved in the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club. It makes a huge difference to me and motivates me to continue to work hard and hopefully repay the faith shown in me by achieving even more in the future”.
Bracken added “I applaud the businesses behind the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club and all those that attended today’s lunch. There were over 160 local business leaders here today, all coming together to do their bit for young people from Suffolk. It’s brilliant to see and makes a real difference to the young people SportsAid supports.”
The next lunch will take place in March 2025. Any businesses wishing to attend should contact Jane Horridge at [email protected] for further information.
