Danone UK & Ireland and The Nutrition Society have announced the recipients of a new grant that enables sports nutritionists to work with local sporting clubs across the UK.  The inaugural round of the GetPRO Professional Grassroots Sports Nutrition Grant will support six nutritionists working with amateur rowers, football players, triathletes and runners.

·       Catherine Caro, who will be joined by an Olympic rower to run cooking workshops for the Fulham Reach Boat Club in London, a registered charity with a vision of “rowing for all”

·       James Homan, who will provide match-day support, run workshops, and create materials designed to improve nutritional awareness among players associated with Brunsmeer Athletic Football Club​ in Sheffield

·       Kris Kumari-Bowles, whose project aims to improve dietary intake and the food choices made amongst the starting 11 players aged 16 to 19 of the Dunbar United Colts Football Club, a grassroots team based in East Lothian, UK

·       Paul Fairbairn, who is looking to improve the performance and diet of members of the Zoom triathlon club in Bournemouth, including supporting them to qualify and compete at international events

·       Robyn Aitkenhead, who will work with Rogerstone Women's AFC, a women’s amateur grassroots football club located in Rogerstone, Wales, to improve overall dietary intake, enhance performance and recovery through better nutrition, and increase awareness of sports nutrition principles

·       Vicky McKinnon, who will provide support for runners of all levels associated with the Styal Running Club in Cheshire to help them create personalised nutrition strategies for pre-, during and post-training, helping them optimise their diets to support their training and competition goals. 

The grant provides funds to sports nutritionists in the early stages of their careers (within ten years of their latest graduation) who are looking to provide expert, evidence-based support to local grassroots sports clubs and teams. 

Robert Browne, Danone UK & Ireland’s Senior Science Communications Manager, said: “It’s thrilling to see this programme take off, and I look forward to following these six projects in action. We know that nutrition can have a huge impact on training and performance, but at the moment only elite athletes or professional clubs typically have access to performance nutrition support. I hope the impact of these projects can serve as a model to others in this field on how we can use nutrition to help athletes of any level reach their overall health and performance goals.”

Mark Hollingsworth, CEO of The Nutrition Society, said: “The quality of the applications was very high, and we are excited to see how the nutritionists selected work with their local clubs to improve the health and fitness of everyday athletes and sporting enthusiasts, using evidence-based nutrition science.”  

These six nutritionists represent the first of what is expected to become a twice-yearly funding programme, funded by Danone’s GetPRO Professional programme and hosted in proud partnership with The Nutrition Society. Find out more: https://www.getpro.co.uk/getproprofessional/grassroots-grants.html