Hi, I am Nicole Russell and I have been skating for a few years now . I first fell in love with ice skating when I was 7 years old and taking lessons, I unfortunately had to halt my lessons due to my rink's closure. I took skating back up in 2022 and once again loved the sport. I however have since been struggling with the upkeep of : lessons, sessions, off-ice , and equipment costs, this has caused my progress to deteriorate and I haven't been able to skate as frequently . I need this funding in order to set me up in time for September when I will be leaving my home rink for university where I will be joining their society for figure skating and receive discounted coaching and sessions, until then I could really use some external help as I am a student who cannot balance multiple jobs and studying A-levels with a passion for zoology which is a competitive field that requires high grades so I cannot afford to fall behind academically, this also is difficult for me when trying to balance my sport that I love so dearly and my college work, alongside my sport. Additionally, various other circumstances have also meant I do not have the same advantages as others but this doesn't prevent me from doing what I love I continue to persevere, being resilient regardless of the obstacles I constantly face.

I am asking for funding as I truly cannot juggle any more jobs with college not because I am lazy, I work hard in order to get where I need to be and I am proud in my work ethic, I just need the push to get me further in my sport.

I have chosen the amount of £2,500 as I am hoping to practice (skate) at a minimum of twice a week and once with a coaching lesson. one lesson costs me £40 without the session which on its own costs £10-15 depending on which one of my two rinks I go to, this also includes my travel costs as I use a train, tram, and bus on my typical trip to the rink. I plan to keep this routine until September (36-38 weeks) this is a rough estimate of how much help I need from others like you and I hope this comes through as reasonable. thank you for reading and please share my page no matter how small the donation, whether it is £2 or £20 anything helps thank you so much!