As the dust settles on the Commonwealth Youth Games, Isle of Man Sport Aid have been reflecting on the success of a number of local competitors who have been supported by the charity in recent years. Star of the show was swimmer Grant Halsall, winning two silver and one bronze medals. Grant has benefitted from help through the Gubay Fund for Sporting Excellence “Chase Your Dream” programme which has enabled him to study and train at Plymouth College since 2007. Also successful in the pool were Charlotte Atkinson and Laura Kinley. As well as extensive training in the pool under the watchful eye of their coach Sacha Djerfi, Charlotte and Laura have also been undertaking twice weekly training sessions at the Isle of Man Sport Institute Strength and Conditioning gym. Both girls were competing against older rivals but still managed to excel – Charlotte reaching four finals and Laura one final. In athletics, Reagan Dee was unlucky to miss out on a medal. She finished third but due to a number of last minute withdrawals, only two medals were awarded. Ben Li competed in badminton and was narrowly beaten by an Australian player whilst Philip Cringle and Nathan Pierce were part of the Rugby 7’s squad. Philip is currently on a Gubay Chase Your Dream scholarship at Kirkham Grammar School in Lancashire. Chairman of Isle of Man Sport Aid, Gary Corkhill commented: “The Commonwealth Youth Games were a great opportunity for our best young sportsmen and women to showcase their talent. Our main aim is to help people at the start of their sporting career and give them the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Grant’s efforts were the undoubted highlight. We have been supporting him since 2006. The others also did well and will hopefully be spurred onto attain further success in the future.” Sports Performance Co-ordinator, Chris Quine, who role includes the overseeing the Isle of Man Sport Institute, added: “It is very rewarding to see young athletes developing and achieving success. We see they effort and commitment they put into their sport. It is very satisfying too for the Institute Support Team to see those who they help reaping the benefits and delivering top class results.” Isle of Man Sport Aid is a registered charity established by Isle of Man Sport to assist the most talented of the Isle of Man’s sportsmen and women. Amongst those either currently supported or who have been supported in recent years are Mark Cavendish, David Knight, Peter Kennaugh, Zoe Gillings and Conor Cummins. Ends