Glasgow student athletes boosted by sporting scholarship

Strathclyde University's Olympic swimmer Robbie Renwick was among over 30 talented local student athletes to be awarded sporting scholarships for the forthcoming year from Winning Students.

The Beijing 2008-competitor was far from the only famous name on a list of over 100 athletes across Scotland, with Glasgow-born badminton player and Scottish Sportsperson of the Year Imogen Bankier who studies part-time with The Open University in Scotland also supported.

Winning Students, based at Stirling University, Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, annually awards scholarships of up to £5,500 to support talented student athletes excelling in badminton, golf, hockey, judo, orienteering, squash, swimming, triathlon, and women’s football.

Renwick was the biggest draw for students at Bellahouston Academy’s Glasgow School of Sport, who were lucky enough to be selected to attend a Q&A session with five Winning Students scholars. Renwick was joined by Glasgow University’s Nicola Skrastin, Glasgow Caldeonian’s Anna Sloan, Scotstoun-born Stirling University triathlete Marc Austin, and Edinburgh’s Telford College disability swimmer Scott Quin, with members of the local press, including The Journal, in attendance.

Renwick told the students, whose timetables are built around their own sports training, the merits of winning the scholarship and how it helps him combine his Olympic training with studying.

“Winning Students allows athletes to train and get on with their studies without any worries about how you will pay for equipment or coaching,” he said. “It’s a fantastic programme for elite athletes to get onto if they are hoping to study at college or university.

During the session, Skrastin, a Scotland U21 hockey player, and first-year Business Studies and Geography student at the Glasgow University, explained why she wanted to study alongside trying to achieve her sporting dreams.

“I want to play at the highest level in my sport, but I also want to achieve a good career,” she said. “Sport is my main priority at the moment, and with my studies it’s great to know I will have a future after hockey.”

Seven footballers from Scottish Women’s Premier League champions Glasgow City Ladies, studying at Stirling University, also received funding, including Scottish international forwards Jane Ross, Christie Murray, and Lisa Evans.

Individual awards can also be made to cater for other sports, including athletics, curling, martial arts, and skiing, as was the case with curler Sloan, who is the Scottish national champion, and helped Scotland qualify for the European Curling Championships in Moscow next month, with the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics also in sight for the 20-year-old.

Now in its fourth year, the 2011/2012 programme now supports 122 talented student athletes with the majority at Stirling University, where the programme is managed.

Glasgow University: Matthew Carder (badminton); Fiona Bruce, Tom Kemsley, Nicola Lowrey, Nicola Skrastin (all hockey); Mhairi Charlton (squash); Peter Anderson (triathlon); Jax Thoirs (individual scholarship – athletics).

Strathclyde University: Patrick MacHugh (badminton); Megan Briggs (golf); Wei Adams, Alison Howie, Ross McIntyre, Alex Wilson (all hockey); Robbie Renwick, Alasdair Stirling (both swimming); Billy Morton (individual scholarship – curling).

Glasgow Caledonian: Anna Sloan (individual scholarship – curling).

UWS: Kirsty Gilmour (badminton), Alan Forsyth, David Forsyth (both hockey); Victoria Adams (individual scholarship – curling).

City of Glasgow College: Heather Richards (women’s football).

Clydebank College: Ross Murdoch (swimming).

Glasgow School of Art: Michael Bremner (hockey).