Help Owen go to the World University Games 2025

Owen Heard is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi, my name is Owen Heard, and I have officially been selected to represent GB students at the FISU World University Games 2025 in Rhine Ruhr, Germany this July.

This would be my first opportunity to represent GB, and in order to compete as part of the team I need to raise a "Cost of Participation". This fee will unfortunately not be covered by my university, or by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) as they have stated they will not be financially supporting athlete participation. As a result, to be eligible for competition, I will be required to raise my own funds.

As an unfunded athlete, I would love the opportunity be part of the GB students team and compete on a world stage – therefore I am reaching out for support. Pole vault is something I dedicate my life to, and it is opportunities like this which make the training sacrifices come to life! I currently train full-time alongside my engineering degree, balancing this with travel to international competitions throughout Europe during both the indoor and outdoor athletics seasons. Some of my achievements in the sport include: current UK No.1 and British Champion, breaking the British University Record (BUCS), and coming 5th at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 for England.

I have big aspirations this season, and the World Uni Games would be my first ever opportunity to wear the flag of Great Britain. Hopefully this would be a huge stepping stone towards even more opportunities this year, and in the future!

Any contributions will help cover:

Participation fee for GB Students - £2150
Flights to and from the games – expected around £300 - £600
Transportation fees for poles, and to and from airports – upwards of £250
Any additional costs to help pursue my international competition season

My goal is to raise as much money as possible towards the games to help cover the participation fee as well as added transportation costs and flights. Any additional support would be used to help me travel to further international competitions this season, which are currently set in the radar throughout Europe.

If you’re able to support at all - whether through a small donation or simply by sharing this with others - I would be incredibly grateful! Your help will go directly towards making this opportunity possible and helping me pursue a big step of my athletics career. I’m incredibly thankful for the continued encouragement from my family, friends, and everyone who’s supported me so far.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting me on the road to Rhine-Ruhr 2025!