
Staff at Crawley-based OCS Group Limited will be following the progress of seven athletes competing at the London 2012 Olympics especially closely.
The athletes were all supported by the company as winners of the OCS Young Sports Person awards or received bursaries to support their training.
Those already selected by mid-July are the swimmers Eleanor Faulkner and Ellen Gandy, the fencer Husayn Rosowsky, table tennis player Liam Pitchford and gymnasts Sam Oldham, Louis Smith and Beth Tweddle.
Over the last 15 years of the OCS Young Sports Person Awards, sports bursaries of over £350,000 have been granted to 180 athletes.
“The aim of the OCS Young Sports Persons Awards is to give emerging young athletes a combination of recognition and practical support, which will ease the strain of training, travelling and competing,” said Martin Gammon, UK managing director at OCS.
For the last four years, OCS has worked with SportsAid, the charity which supports around 2,000disabled and non-disabled athletes in the UKeach year, to identify who should receive the support.
“Parents are often the sole sponsor of a young athlete in the early stages of their career and a small amount of financial assistance at that time can make a big difference. OCS has made an important contribution by helping athletes to fulfil their potential and we are proud to work with them,” said Tim Lawler, chief executive of SportsAid.