The Dave Aitchison SportsAid Fund was set up to assist talented young triathletes in the Triathlon London & SE regions to succeed in the sport. Athletes who receive funding must be identified and nominated by the British Triathlon Federation, based on their talent and sporting results. Applicants must be:

• aged between 12 and 30 years old;
• a member of the Triathlon London or SE region IRC squads, Triathlon London Academy, South East Region Academy, Triathlon England talent squad or GB Age Group team; and
• live and train in the Triathlon London or SE regions.

Successful applicants will typically receive grants of up to £1,000 per year which can be used towards coaching, equipment or competition travel costs.

The fund was set up in memory of Dave Aitchison, a rising star in British Triathlon, who died suddenly in January 2007, aged 29, from an undetected heart condition (arrhythmogenic ventricular cardiomyopathy). Dave was a strong cross country runner as a schoolboy and developed a passion for cycling as a mountain biker at University before moving into triathlons where he really excelled. As part of the Herbalife Triathlon Academy coached by Bill Black, in his first year of competition Dave won the Age Group race at both London Triathlon and London Duathlon before taking Bronze at the World Age Group Championships in Lausanne and being named British Triathlon's Age Group Triathlete of the Year 2006.

Dave's triathlon club, London-based Ful-On Tri Club, organise an annual cyclosportive - The Surrey Legs of Steel: Dave Aitchison Challenge Ride from Boxhill, taking in the thigh-burning Surrey Hills where Dave did so much of his training, earning himself the "Legs of Steel" title. All profits from the event go direct to the fund, and it is the main fund-raising event for the Dave Aitchison Fund.

If you meet the above selection criteria and would like to be considered for funding, please fill in the DAF Application Form, and return it to James Beckinsale, the Triathlon London Talent Coach, as detailed at the bottom of the form. Applications are typically submitted to British Triathlon by October each year for consideration for the next year's funding.

Eight triathletes are receiving Dave Aitchison SportsAid funding in 2009. Regular athlete updates from SportsAid will be posted in Updates panel on the right.

Armanni Antoine-Chagar, Walthamstow Tritons, aged 13 years (Tristar 3), attends the Triathlon London Academy and represented London at the IRC Champs in 2008 finishing 9th overall and 2nd in the London Series. She also took 2nd place in the under-15 London Youth Games 2008 aquathlon, racking up wins at the Rayleigh, Clash of the Tritons and Barking & Dagenham junior aquathlons along with a win at the Young Athletics League 1500m race.

Lucy Chittenden, Farnham Tri Club, aged 17 years (17-24 Age Group), finished 3rd at the Junior National Championships in 2008, with a 3rd placing at the London Triathlon Junior Elite sprint event and 10th place in the adult race at the Corus Elite series event in Reading.

Sky Draper, Jetstream Tri, aged 13 years (Tristar 3), attends the Triathlon London Academy and represented London at the IRC Champs in 2008 finishing in 2nd place overall and winning the London Series, together with wins at Dorney Lake Openwater Triathlon, St Albans, Eton College, Thames Turbo, Fritton Lake and Midsummer Sunrise junior aquathlons, Hillingdon Duathlon, the Flora mini marathon (both in 2007 & 2008) and setting a new course record at the ERRA National Young Athlete’s Road Relays.

Bradley Hales, Optima Racing Team, aged 19 years, attends the Triathlon London Academy and was the first junior at the Thames Turbo Triathlon in April 2009. Bradley has also competed in the British Triathlon Super Series in May, finishing 14th overall, and leading after the swim against 36 elite athletes including Tim Don and Will Clarke.

Lewis Hawkins, Jetstream Tri, aged 12 years (Tristar 2), attends the Triathlon London Academy and represented London at the IRC Champs in 2008 finishing in 2nd place overall and winning the London Series, together with wins at Hillingdon Duathlon, Thames Turbo junior aquathlon, and the Hillingdon Borough Schools cross country and 1500m races.

Emily McLoughlin, Crawley Tri Club, aged 16 years (Youth), represented the South East region at the IRC Champs in 2008 finishing 6th in the Youth category and 4th in the SE Series. She finished in 4th place at Blenheim Youth Sprints, 3rd in the National Youth Triathlon series and completed the challenging Surrey Legs of Steel 2008 long route in just over 4 hours.

Matthew Myers, Optima Racing Team, aged 15 years (Youth), attends the Triathlon London Academy and represented London at the IRC Champs in 2008 finishing 3rd in the London Series. He also took wins at the Hillingdon Duathlon, Blenheim Triathlon (1st London athlete), Windsor Junior Sprint and F3 Triathlon series.

Lara Nyman, Jetstream Tri/Team Viper, aged 16 years (Youth), took bronze at the IRC Champs in 2007, a silver medal at the National Youth Triathlon Championships and was National Youth Duathlon champion in the same year. In 2008 she finished in 2nd place at Blenheim Youth Sprints and 11th in the adult race at the Corus Elite series event in Reading, 8th in the IRC Champs, 2nd in the adult race at Clash of the Tritons aquathlon and was the overall winner of the Annual Great River Swim.

We wish all of Dave’s athletes every success in their 2009 race season, and hope to see many of them involved in the Surrey Legs of Steel event which takes place on Saturday 26th September, 2009.