Super seven named as sporting ambassadors for MJ Church
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher and Pentathlon GB’s Joe Choong have been given timely boosts just before they travel to Brazil after being selected among the first group of sporting ambassadors for MJ Church, Team Bath’s new partner.
The duo will be amongst a group of University of Bath-based athletes across a range of sports who will bring Team Bath’s partnership with MJ Church alive by attending events and encouraging and inspiring the company’s staff and their families, as well as customers, to take up sport and healthy activities.
In return the Marshfield-based Civil Engineering, Plant, Transport and Waste Management Contractors will offer the athletes a bursary towards their training and competition expenses.
The first seven ambassadors selected, all proven medal winners or potential future stars, are:
- Sam Cook – Netball
- Joe Choong – Modern Pentathlon
- Ben Fletcher – Judo
- Sydney Gregson – Rugby
- Dave King – Athletics
- Jay Lelliott – Swimming
- Eden Richardson – Tennis
Fletcher flies out to Brazil on Friday to finalise preparations for the men’s -100kg weight division on August 11. Coached by Juergen Klinger, he has won four international titles in recent years and earned an Olympic continental quota place through the world-ranking list.
“The partnership is exciting and the ambassador roles will make a big difference to a lot of athletes,” said Fletcher. “This support will help me be as good as I can possibly be in judo.”
Student-athlete Choong studies Mathematics at the University of Bath, which also hosts the National Performance Centre for Pentathlon GB. He will be in action in Brazil on August 18 and 20.
Sports Performance graduate Dave King narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification but confirmed his status as one of the country’s best young athletes by winning 110m hurdles bronze at the British Championships.
Team Bath Netball’s Sam Cook is rated as one of the most talented defenders in the sport and played a starring role as England retained the Netball Euro Open Championship title earlier this year.
Two current University of Bath Sports Performance students have also been selected as ambassadors. Swimmer Jay Lelliott won gold and silver for Great Britain at the World University Games in 2015, while rugby player Sydney Gregson has represented England Women at all levels up to and including Six Nations. Both are supported by the Team Bath Dual Career programme.
Team Bath Tennis MCTA player Eden Richardson has won a host of national and international junior titles, in both singles and doubles, and this year made her first singles appearance at Junior Wimbledon.
MJ Church, a dynamic business offering a diverse range of services from skip hire and waste collection to multi million-pound civil engineering contracts, became a partner of Team Bath last month, supporting sport from grass-roots level through to high performance.
