PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS//
Junior Closed Championships at both U13 and U15, and
represent England in the annual Five Nations tournament in
2015 and 2017.
Over Christmas Lydia took part in the US Open in
Massachusetts, where she reached the third round, and in
October she came third in the British Championships. She is
also part of the England Development Squad of elite players
who have the potential to represent England.
She said: “I like squash because it’s so competitive and it’s one-to-one,
rather than a team sport. It’s very physically demanding but I love the
feel-good factor after a game.
“The travel that comes with tournaments is great, too: I’ve been able to
visit so many places I might not otherwise have seen, and we usually get
down time when I can do some exploring. At Christmas we spent some
time in New York. I went up the Empire State Building and visited
Times Square, which was really impressive.”
Lydia is among the young English athletes (aged 16+) on the
highly sought-after Sport England-funded Talented Athlete
Scholarship Scheme (TASS), after being nominated by
England Squash. TASS supports athletes in areas like Strength
and Conditioning, nutrition and psychology, so they can get
the best from their sporting and academic careers without
having to choose between the two.
TASS awards are made to around 400 athletes across the
country each year and many of them have gone on to win
Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Lydia, who is studying BTEC Sport and A Level Psychology
in the Sixth Form, says her next goal is being declared U19
No 1 when she turns 17. She is aiming to attend a US college
offering squash as a varsity sport, so she can take part in US
tournaments alongside her studies.
She added: “I’d like to have the opportunity to play professionally but
longer term I’d like to be a squash coach so I can help other children in
the way that I’ve been helped.”
David Byas, Director of Sport, Pocklington School, said: “Lydia
is an outstanding sportswoman who we are delighted to have within the
community. She came to us with these attributes and qualities and
we are thrilled that our Sports Department can support her through
its Strength and Conditioning Programme and BTEC Sports course.”
Charlie Turner
First Year pupil Charlie Turner is the
Men’s U12 British Indoor Snowboard
Freestyle Champion for the second
successive year after competing in the
British Snowboard Championships in
Manchester.
Charlie, 11, is also the Men’s U12
Scottish
Freestyle
Snowboard
Champion and has begun to train with
a Team GB feeder group, progressing
his ultimate aim of representing his
country in the Olympics.
He said: “It is awesome to be the Champion
and to retain the title for a second year. The
Championships were great, the snowboard
park we competed on was amazing and the
competition was good as always. There is a
lot of tension as you wait at the top and watch
your competitors do their runs. If you fall or
land badly you can lose points so easily.”
Charlie began snowboarding when
he was six and caught the bug for
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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