“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with SportsAid to support the E20 Champions. As the former Athletes’ Village, hosting more than 17,000 athletes during the summer of 2012, East Village’s Olympic and Paralympic heritage is an ongoing source of pride for the more than 5,000 people living here. We can’t think of a better way to acknowledge this heritage than by supporting our young aspiring Olympians and Paralympians in the early stages of their sporting careers.”

Neil Young
Chief Executive Officer
Get Living London
  • Three years on from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, East Village has partnered with SportsAid to support 10 young British athletes who are in training for Tokyo 2020 and beyond
  • The young athletes, named E20 Champions, will visit the former Athletes’ Village, now known as East Village, in a series of events designed to encourage young people to get involved in new sports

2 October 2015: Today, East Village, the former Athletes’ Village, announced a partnership with SportsAid, a charity dedicated to supporting the next generation of British sports stars. The collaboration will see East Village supporting 10 of the country’s best young athletes who have their sights set on competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. 

Suitably named the E20 Champions, these 10 talented youngsters from across London and the South East, who are all aged between 14 and 19 years, are at the top of their game in a variety of sports from athletics and swimming to fencing and volleyball. At just 14 years old, the youngest, James Smith, is one of Britain’s top young table tennis players, whilst the oldest are 19-year-olds Ayesha Fihosy and Jai Birch, who are both junior fencing champions.

Ayesha said: “Fencing is a very financially demanding sport. To qualify for European and world championships I need to travel to the competitions all over Europe, so getting this help is amazing. It gives me the chance to try and reach my goals and achieve my full potential.”

Neil Young, Chief Executive Officer at Get Living London said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with SportsAid to support the E20 Champions. As the former Athletes’ Village, hosting more than 17,000 athletes during the summer of 2012, East Village’s Olympic and Paralympic heritage is an ongoing source of pride for the more than 5,000 people living here. We can’t think of a better way to acknowledge this heritage than by supporting our young aspiring Olympians and Paralympians in the early stages of their sporting careers.”

Tim Lawler, Chief Executive of SportsAid said: “This is a fantastic example of the living legacy of London 2012. Young athletes still tell us how much the Games inspired them so we are delighted to be working with East Village to help them achieve their ambitions. As E20 Champions they will get the financial support that can make a huge difference at this stage of their lives and we are excited to see how they progress. The power of backing people is that the impact is seen for years to come.”

The new partnership will see the E20 Champions become ambassadors for East Village where they will be invited to represent the area, taking part in events to encourage young people to get involved with sports. They will also be visiting the local school, Chobham Academy, which was recently rated Outstanding in its first Ofsted inspection.

East Village’s E20 Champions:

  1. James Smith – Table Tennis, 14, from Orpington (BR6)
  2. Ryan Poole – Volleyball, 16 from Enfield (EN2)
  3. Naomi Harryman – Athletics, 16 from Epping (CM16)
  4. Joel Cannell – Tennis, 17, from Loughton (IG10)
  5. Kunmi Ogunfeibo – Swimming, 17 from Croydon (CR0)
  6. Dillon LaBrooy – Disability athletics, 17 from Guildford (GU1)
  7. Finette Agyapong – Athletics, 18, from Plaistow (E13)
  8. Ayesha Fihosy – Fencing, 19 from Catford (SE6)
  9. Jai Birch – Fencing, 19, from Stratford (E15)
  10. Joseph Dewar – Athletics, 19 from Ilford (IG6)

More information: www.getlivinglondon.com or www.eastvillagelondon.co.uk and 020 3714 8080

For More Info Contact:

Hope and Glory PR:
Tel: 020 7566 9747
Lisa Fox
Lisa.fox@hopeandglorypr.com
Joccoaa Hand
Joccoaa.hand@hopeandglorypr.com
Amelia Greenwood
amelia.greenwood@hopeandglorypr.com

Katharine Walsh
Head of Communications
Delancey
Tel: +44 (0)20 7448 1461

Notes to Editors

About East Village London E20
• East Village is London’s newest neighbourhood and first Olympic legacy village on the doorstep of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

• Set in 67 acres of breath-taking parkland, East Village includes more than 25 acres of mature parklands, new parks and open space

• Positioned next to the world-class sporting venues of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East Village residents have easy access to a further 560 acres of parkland, waterways, and nature trails connected by paths for jogging, cycling and walking

• One of the best connected neighbourhoods in London with Stratford International and Stratford Regional stations offering links to key locations such as the West End in 20 minutes, St Pancras International in seven minutes (by High Speed 1), Canary Wharf in nine minutes and London airports within an hour

• East Village is a thriving place for residents and visitors, offering Chobham Academy for students aged 3-18 rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted 2015, a state-of-the-art health centre and independent shops, restaurants and cafés.

• Homes at East Village are available through two landlords: – Get Living London – is the residential owner of East Village managing a variety of homes for private rent – Triathlon Homes – manage the affordable tenures at East Village, comprising social rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership

Visit eastvillagelondon.co.uk or call 020 3714 8080 to find out more.

About Get Living London
Get Living London is a true pioneer in the private rental sector, changing the way London rents. As the residential owner directly managing 1,439 private rental homes in East Village, Get Living London aims to make renting refreshingly straightforward and convenient.

In this unique position, as well as offering high quality homes Get Living London doesn’t charge fees, provides long-term tenancy agreements with built-in flexibility and a service-oriented approach.

Further benefits for residents include free broadband and evening and weekend phone calls, great savings with Sky TV, and furnished homes come with complimentary highend furniture packages.

Prices start from £405 per week for a 1 bedroom apartment, £420 per week for a 2 bedroom apartment, £570 per week for a 3 bedroom apartment, and £785 per week for a 4 bedroom townhouse.*

For more information, and to see Get Living London homes currently available to rent within East Village E20, visit eastvillagelondon.co.uk or call 020 3714 8080 and follow us on Twitter @GetLivingLDN.

About SportsAid
SportsAid helps young sports people to overcome the financial challenges they face in their bid to become Britain’s next generation of Olympians, Paralympians and world champions. The charity’s patron is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. Some of the best known SportsAid recipients are Sir Chris Hoy, David Weir CBE, Mo Farah CBE, Dame Sarah Storey, Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE, Ellie Simmonds OBE, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE, Sir Ben Ainslie, Jonnie Peacock MBE, Tom Daley, Ade Adepitan MBE and Sir Steve Redgrave. In the last three years the charity has helped 5,000 of the UK’s brightest prospects who hope to follow in their footsteps. For more information contact Simon Worsfold at SportsAid on 020 7273 1978 or email simon@sportsaid.org.uk