Sporting success for three on BNU’s Talented Athlete Scheme
19-year-old BNU student Marli Jessop, who is also in her second year of Fine Arts study, has been competing in Athletics, more specifically 60/100m hurdles, for nine years. With a strict training regime, Marli commits to four times weekly training sessions alongside two gym sessions which she protests could not be done without the help of her strength and conditioning coach provided by the university.
Due to BNU’s Dual Career Accreditation, or more commonly referred to, TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme), the university can support students to pursue not only their academic potential but their sporting passions without compromising on performance quality.
“The university has provided me with a great S&C coach who I see once a week. My coach writes my gym schedule so I can reach the goals I have set out to achieve and, most importantly, he understands the sport I’m in and supports my decisions. I also have access to physiotherapy treatment should I require it”Marli Jessop BA (Hons) Fine Arts, second year
A long-standing resident of Princes Risborough, Marli has achieved many successes during her sporting career. In 2023 alone, she has already made an impact, including winning brilliant gold at the South of England Indoor Athletic Championships on 4 February. Further, Marli also went on to win a silver medal at the British Senior Indoor Athletic Championships on 18 February, achieving an impressive time of 8.26, a personal best! And, despite being involved in an accident and suffering minor injuries, Marli went on to compete at British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) almost a week later where, had her unfortunate accident not played a factor, she would have undoubtedly had similar successes to the previous competitions.
Marli is already training for the upcoming BUCS Outdoor Championships, as well as the European Championships later this year.
Another BNU student, championing in Snowboarding Freestyle, is Stephen Smith from Northall, Buckinghamshire. Stephen is a second-year paramedic science student and has been freestyle Snowboarding for eight years.
“I have attended the university from the age of 16, before starting my course, as part of the TASS programme, and have received a lot of support through this”Stephen Smith BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science, second year
Stephen has a rigorous training routine, splitting his time between the gym and the Snowdome located in Milton Keynes. When he can, 20-year-old Stephen trains in the mountains and attends strength and conditioning sessions provided by the university.
“There is a lot of support with sport psychology, nutrition and physiotherapy.”
Most recently, Stephen won gold at the BUCS Snowboarding Freestyle final on March 15 after winning the qualifying event in October 2022. Impressively, Stephen also won gold in the U21 English Championships back in 2021 and silver in the British Championships.
Fencing star and Design Innovation Masters student Sophia Potter, has been competing for 12 years and is now in the Senior Women’s Sabre category.
Much like Marli and Stephen, Sophia has an intense schedule, with three to four training sessions per week, alongside strength and conditioning training two or three times per week.
When asked how BNU has supported her to achieve sporting success, Sophia stated:
“The university has supported me throughout my undergrad and masters, allowing extra time on assignments if needed and providing supportive lecturers”Sophia Potter MA Design Innovation
Sophia’s most recent achievements in the sport include being a part of the GB Team for the European and World Championships 2022 alongside coming third place in the individual Commonwealth Championships. Sophia also came 2nd in the team event for England and 3rd in the BUCS Championships (individual) for BNU. If that wasn’t impressive enough, 23-year-old Sophia is currently ranked 4th in the British Rankings for Women’s Senior Sabre as well as ranking 1st in the under 23’s to which she feels “immense joy”.
Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) was recognised in 2021 for helping talented athletes to reach their potential in education alongside achieving success in their sport.
By achieving Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) Dual Career Accreditation, BNU joined a small number of UK universities to receive external validation for the support and reassurance it already provides to its talented athletes.
The University is currently supporting more than 30 student-athletes with stars from Reading Rockets basketball club, the Swim England Performance Centre and Academy 23.