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Team Tom Jones.....but NOT Sir Tom!

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My name is Thomas Graham-Jones. I'm a 16 year old Year 11 GCSE school pupil here in Nottingham. at The Becket School. 
"It's Not Unusual " for my friends to call me Tom Jones! But, unlike the legendary singer Sir Tom Jones who is called 'The Voice' , my friends call me 'The Hair!'

I started playing volleyball properly just 2 years ago and my rise has been rapid. From playing in the Nottingham Rockets Junior Under 16 and under 18 Teams I progressed quickly to The East Midlands Regional Under 15's and Under 17's Squads and on to play for the Nottingham Men's 3rd Team, Men's 2nd team and debuted for the Men's First Team last month...which led me to an England Cadets Under 17's trial and selection for the National Squad in February 2018. 


(That's me Middle Row Second in from the left! Number 10 Shirt)

As a school pupil in Full Time education  at The Becket School in Nottingham, and with plans to go to Sixth Form and University, I am acutely aware that I rely entirely on my Mum and Dad for financial support. and this is the reason for setting up my
Go Fund Me Campaign.

Research by the charity  Sports Aid shows that athletes and their families are paying, on average, over Six Thousand Pounds a Year to fund their child's sporting ambitions.

So..... 

What are the Challenges? 
One of the biggest challenges facing many talented young athletes like me is the cost of travel and accommodation especially when the athlete in question, climbs the ladder of success and starts to compete on the international stage. As volleyball is not a funded sport I also have to pay for sport hall training facilities here in Nottingham, gym membership to cross train, specialist volleyball shoes, food whilst travelling away, flights, hotels and also..... my England kit!
According to the study the bank of mum and dad covered a collective bill of more than Seven and a Half Million Pounds Sterling annually for 1,192 young Sports Aid supported athletes, with parents taking on second jobs or having to go without to make ends meet! 


(That's me again second in from the left!)

Every Penny (or Pound!) you give will be used to fund my ambition to compete in the Northern European Volleyball Championships (NEVZA) in October 2018 in Denmark against top sides like Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and The Faroe Islands, with more than 170 Under-17 athletes competing in the championship. 
After that (and whilst at Sixth Form at The Becket School) I plan to work hard to maintain an England National Squad place by joining the England Juniors Under 19 Squad and on into the Men's Senior Squad without having to rely on Mum and Dad!

Organizer

Judith Graham-Jones
Organizer

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