Celebrating Excellence - Ron Harrod Foundation 2025 Funding Winners
Celebrating Excellence: Ron Harrod Foundation 2025 Funding Winners
The Ron Harrod Foundation continues its legacy of transforming lives through sport in 2025. This year's funding recipients represent the very best of grassroots sporting excellence, community dedication and unwavering spirit.
Helping East Anglian Sporting Stars Shine Bright
Established in 2018 by the fantastic team at Harrod Sport, The Ron Harrod Foundation is all about giving talented young sportsmen and women in the East of England the leg up they need to truly excel.
Every single year, we're proud to offer up to £5,000 in vital funding to exceptional athletes under the age of 25. This support genuinely makes a difference, helping to cover crucial costs like equipment, intensive training, and even essential travel and accommodation for competitions.
We've seen firsthand how our backing has helped turn budding potential into astonishing achievements, transforming sporting dreams into incredible realities. It's truly inspiring to be a part of their journey!
2025 Funding Programme Overview
This year's funding programme saw a record-breaking number of applications from across Norfolk and Suffolk. Our panel of judges faced an incredibly tough decision, as every entry showcased remarkable promise and dedication. With so many deserving candidates, it was no easy task to select the recipients. Ultimately, we chose those who best demonstrated outstanding potential, a positive impact on their communities, and a strong alignment with the foundation's core values.
Meet Our 2025 Winners
BROOKE MATTHEWS - BOXING / Lowestoft, Suffolk
Brooke is a National champion boxer for England with Olympic aspirations, training six times weekly under Triple A boxing club. Due to living in Lowestoft, she frequently travels across the country for training camps and competitions, often requiring overnight stays.
This season she's won four gold medals and one silver across multiple competitions and was recently selected to help prepare England's under-19 team for the World Championships. Her upcoming schedule includes training with the England team and competing in tournaments across Manchester, Portugal, Wales, Lincoln, and Ireland.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding will help with travel costs for training camps as Brooke pursues her Olympic dream.
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TYLER STONE - SWIMMING / Norwich, Norfolk
Tyler Stone, a 15-year-old swimmer from Norwich, has made an extraordinary comeback after suffering a life-threatening wrist injury in March 2024 that severed all tendons and major nerves, requiring 4.5 hours of surgery and extensive rehabilitation. Despite missing most of 2024's competitions, he returned to dominate the Norfolk County Championships in January 2025 and achieved outstanding personal bests at the GB Aquatics British Swimming Championships in April, finishing 5th in the final and breaking a regional record that had stood since 2013.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding will go towards monthly training costs, expensive competition travel, and specialised equipment to help Tyler realise his Olympic ambitions.
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JESSICA STAINES - TENNIS / Stowmarket, Suffolk
Seven-year-old Jess began her tennis journey at Stowmarket's local club and has since become an exceptional talent despite significant financial challenges, as her family also cares for a seriously disabled sister. Now the current Suffolk Ladies Champion and ranked 23rd in the UK for under-16s, she represents Suffolk squads whilst training at David Lloyd Ipswich under coach Michael Billson, having earned free membership through her ability. With an impressive collection of Grade 3 ladies' titles across Suffolk, Frinton, Cromer, Felixstowe, Harlow, Ipswich and Easton, plus a brilliant 4th place finish at an 18u national tournament in Corby, Jess maintains excellent academics at Stow High School and has secured a scholarship offer from Finborough School.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding will enable her to compete in national and international events where she truly belongs, acquire essential equipment, and enhance her training programme - investments that could transform this dedicated young athlete's future.
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JOSHUA AMM - ROAD CYCLING / North Norfolk
This determined young athlete, who faces the dual challenges of cerebral palsy and vision impairment in one eye, is pursuing his ambitious dream of representing Team GB at the Paralympic Games through road cycling. Despite these significant obstacles, he has demonstrated remarkable progress over the past year, showcasing the dedication and resilience that makes him an ideal candidate for Ron Harrod Foundation support. However, his rapid development has reached a crucial juncture where essential training and racing equipment is needed to unlock his potential and propel him to the next competitive level.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding will help Joshua acquire the specialized gear required for elite-level road cycling. This exceptional young cyclist could transform his Paralympic aspirations into reality, embodying the very spirit of determination and excellence that the foundation champions.
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MILLIE SUFFLING - SWIMMING / Fakenham, Norfolk
Millie is an exceptional girl with amazing potential who was spotted at a young age for her talent in breaststroke. She currently competes in swim meets across the country, and her dedication to the sport is evident in the time and effort she commits to training and improving. Millie's family fully supports her passion and talent for swimming and we look forward to seeing her progression this year.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding will help Millie with travel costs, accommodation and equipment costs allowing her to compete in more regular competitions around the country.
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JOSHUA FORD - RUGBY / Beccles, Suffolk
Josh has played rugby for Beccles since joining the club when he was 4, working hard to develop as a player. He has shown great potential over the years and this culminated in his selection for the Leicester Tigers Academy. Additionally, Josh meets the criteria for a Scotland qualified player and is part of the Scotland RFU's player development pathway. Josh will attend Loughborough College next year to continue his studies and play rugby at a higher level than he can locally.
The Ron Harrod Foundation Funding would be used to fund his accommodation costs, player medical insurance and travel to and from training with both Scotland and Leicester Tigers.
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WILLIAM ELLARD - SWIMMING / Beccles, Suffolk
We have chosen to continue funding Will in 2025, what an amazing 12 months this young man has had! Will has continued to represent his country and qualified for the Paralympic Games 2024 where he came away with 2 golds & 1 silver medals, not only that he also broke the world record in his individual 200 freestyle race. He was also shortlisted for the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year and to top it off received an MBE in April, presented by Princess Anne.
Will trains so hard and completes in any competition he can to continue to represent his country. Will is looking to prepare for the World Series in Singapore this year and then the commonwealth games in 2026.
All of this travel incurs significant cost and we are pleased that the Ron Harrod Foundation can go some way towards helping the financial burden to compete at this level. We are sure Will is in for another exceptional year and will be watching his performances with keen interest.
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The Ron Harrod Foundation
The Ron Harrod Foundation is incredibly proud to continue its mission of supporting talented young athletes. Established in honour of our eponymous founder, the Foundation provides vital assistance to aspiring local sportspeople across Norfolk and Suffolk, helping them to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential.
We are delighted to announce our chosen athletes for 2025, and we wish them all the very best of luck in their competitions and training throughout the year. It is a true pleasure to be able to help these dedicated individuals, and we eagerly anticipate following their journeys and celebrating their successes. The entire Ron Harrod Foundation team is thrilled to play a part in fostering the next generation of sporting stars!
How to Apply for 2026 Funding
Applications for the 2026 Ron Harrod Foundation funding programme will open later this year, please keep an eye on social media for announcements. We encourage applications from any athletes under 25 or under in any sport, who are from Norfolk or Suffolk.
Who is Ron Harrod?
Harrod UK began when founder Ron Harrod invested just £300 and started to convert old herring nets into garden netting in a factory in Lowestoft, using skills traditionally associated with Lowestoft's fishing industry.
The year of 1954 ended with a successful £5,000 turnover and Harrod UK Ltd was established in a 30ft by 10ft workshop in Horn Hill, Lowestoft.
1976 saw the company expanding, securing additional factory space at the site before building its own factory in Pinbush Road in 1979. The office followed, moving shortly after.
Throughout his career, Ron Harrod had always been a pioneer in goal post safety and became a co-founding member of the CEN Committee in 1989.
Following in that tradition, his son Chris Harrod currently represents the U.K. on the European Standards Committee for goal post safety.
In 2017 the company changed its name to Harrod Sport as it ventured further into international markets.
Ron Harrod retired in 2005, but his children – Chris and Stephanie Harrod – ensure his legacy lives on, both in a business sense and with the ethos Ron maintained throughout the years that the "customer is king". Sadly, Ron passed away on 29 December 2020, and is hugely missed by the Harrod team.
Today, Harrod Sport is recognised as the market leader in the sports industry and boasts a multi-million-pound turnover with a 140-strong workforce. This has all been made possible because of Ron's entrepreneurial determination and winning spirit.
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