Meet our Talented Athletes

Meet our Talented Athletes

Pendle Leisure Trust wants to give young, local people the opportunity to further their potential in the sporting world by offering free use of its facilities as a means of assisting with training programmes

A number of athletes have already signed up to the Talented Athletes Scheme and are already benefiting from the free use of Pendle Leisure Trust’s facilities:

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2024 Enrolment

Meet the 2024 Talented Athletes

Rhys Helm - from Colne
15-year-old Rhys is part of the Wigan Warriors Future Development Program. His ambitions are to be a professional rugby player, whilst also planning to follow his dreams to become a doctor or sports scientist.

2022 Enrolment

Meet the 2023 Talented Athletes

Ben Stratton - from Colne
Ben currently runs for Blackburn Harriers in both cross country and track, with the main goal to be a top 1500m runner. He has so far achieved the 800m 2023 Lancashire County and Lancashire schools champion, as well as the 1500m 2023 North of England champion. Ben is excited to use his Activo membership to have a gym and swimming pool so close to home when he is not training in Blackburn.
Charlotte Robertshaw - from Barrowford
15-year-old Charlotte is an athletics/cross-country runner, currently running for Blackburn Harriers and Lancashire. She is a middle-distance runner and currently holds the title of Lancashire Schools 1500m champion which she hopes to retain in 2024. Charlotte has also competed for the Lancashire Cross Country Team (Schools and Inter Counties) for the last 3 years. Her other achievements include Pendle Schools Champion 2018 & 2019, Ribble Valley Schools Champion 2019, 2021, 2022 & 2023, East Lancashire Primary Schools Champion 2019, Red Rose Cross Country league winner 2019...the list goes on!

Charlotte trains 5-6 times a week which she tells us can put a lot of strain on her body, and so would like to use her Activo membership so that she can use the pools, treadmills and cross trainers and reduce the impact on her joints. This year her ambition is to win the Lancashire Schools Cross Country and represent Lancashire at English schools, finishing in the top 30.

Emma Robertshaw - from Barrowford
Emma is a 13-year-old cross-country/athletics athlete who competes for Blackburn Harriers and Lancashire, and joined our Talented Athletes programme in 2023. 
She is currently leading the Red Rose Cross Country league after winning the first cross country of the season and is looking forward to the Lancashire Schools and Lancashire Club championships where she hopes to be selected for both teams for the second year running. Emma has set herself the challenge of coming in the top 3 in both Lancashire Schools and Champs.

Last year she ran in the English Schools and Inter Counties race, coming in the top 100 nationally. Emma's ambition is to move into the top 50 at this year's Championships and long term she would like to gain a scholarship to America where she can fulfil her ambition to run at the highest standard.

Emma tells us that she is currently having a growth spurt which would mean that she will benefit from using Pendle Leisure Trust's pools and gyms to put less stress on her body. 
Elliot Shackleton - from Barnoldswick
Elliot started playing football at the age of 5 years old for Barnoldswick Town Juniors in the East Lancs Football Alliance, and is now in the under 14s. He most recently joined the Barrowford Celtic Under 14 Clarets in the Accrington and District Saturday league and trains and plays for both teams.

He has also represented both his junior school and high school football team and continues to do so. Through playing and representing Fisher More football team and the coaching received at his grassroots clubs, Elliot received a nomination for trials with Lancashire Schools FA Under 14 Boys this summer. He was over the moon to receive word that after 2 tough trials, he had qualified for the Lancashire squad for the 2023-2024 season.

Elliot plans to use his Activo membership to work hard on his fitness and health goals to maximise his potential, and ultimately play at the highest possible level. 
Tommy Vassilev- from Colne

Tommy Vassilev- from Colne

16-year-old Tommy plays Rugby for Shevington Sharks ARLFC and hopes to one day play at a professional level of rugby. Being one of our Talented Athletes, Tommy aims to use his membership to use our multiple sites and take his training beyond the rugby pitch, to give him the best chance of making it to the top.

Noah Thornton - from Fence
Noah Thornton - from Fence

Noah plays rugby as part of the Wigan Warriors Futures Programme. The programme is aimed at aspiring Rugby League players in Year 10 and 11 who are not currently on Scholarship. The programme also includes several fixtures against Warrington Wolves and St Helens ETP programmes. This is a great opportunity for players to show their talents and give themselves a chance of making the step onto the performance pathway

Austen Coates - from Colne

Austen Coates - from Colne

Playing for Wigan Rugby League, Austen is another of our Talented Athletes who wishes to develop his training beyond his club sessions. He explains that he wants to "develop my performance and enjoy and excel in my sport, and to develop a career out of it." We want to support Austen in his goals and hope than an Activo membership will aid his physical training but also be used for leisure activities to relax a little too!

Jude Riddell - from Colne

Jude Riddell - from Colne

 Another one of our aspiring athletes from Wigan Warriors Futures stars, Jude is 15 years old and his goal is to become a professional rugby player in the future. Like some of our other talented athletes, he is also trained by Ben Rowling at the club who supports him on achieving this goal.

Luca Torriero - from Barrowford

At only 15 years old, Luca is talented and passionate about all racket sports, playing badminton for Lancashire U17s, as well as playing tennis for Burnley Men's team, and ranked 30 in Lancashire U16s! He tells us that is also pretty good at table tennis too but doesn't have the time to commit to this with badminton and tennis taking front runner positions. Luca is also working with Howard Green who is a tennis coach and founder of Super Movers, to improve his agility and fitness. He is excited about the prospect of an Activo Fitness membership to help build a strength and conditioning schedule into his current routine. 

Lucie Machin - from Colne Lucie Machin - from Colne

From an early age, Lucie's ambition was to play football. Now at only 12 years old she is playing for 3 different football clubs, one being Lancashire's county club. Although football is Lucie's main passion, she is also talented in cross country, coming 1st in Pendle Cross Country last year and 4th in Lancashire. She knows how important fitness and strength is to keeping on top of her game in her sports and hopes to use the leisure facilities we have to get stronger overall and continue to reach her goals. 

Chloe Smith - from Blacko
12 year old Chloe has partaken in various sports throughout her life including gymnastics, netball, swimming, athletics, golf and hockey. Recently, due to a clash in trial and training dates, she has focused her efforts and time on her favourite sport of hockey. Chloe has trained with Pendle Forest Hockey Club since she was 4 years old and has competed for them at under 10/12/14's. This year, following Lancashire under 13 hockey trials, she is very proud to say that she was selected for the JAC programme-part of the England Hockey Talent pathway. This includes training and tournaments against other counties over the '23-'24 season. Her goal is to represent Pendle Hockey Club in the senior league next year, and eventually to represent her country!

Chloe also currently uses the Seedhill athletics track on Mondays, training with Pendle Athletics Club, where she represents the club at Javelin, discus and 4x100M relay. Over the winter season she competes for them in the Red Rose and Mid Lancs Cross Country League.

2022 Enrolment

Meet the 2022 Talented Athletes

Scarlett Lees - from Barrowford

Scarlett Lees - from Barrowford

Scarlett plays for Burnley Netball Club and also represents Lancashire in the sport. She has been playing netball for Burnley Netball Club since she was 5 years old. When she was 11, she started playing in the Hyndburn Netball League for a team run by her mum. This valuable experience of playing against women of all ages helped her to develop her game. Alongside playing in this league, she also started playing for Burnley Netball Club’s team in the Burnley Ladies Netball League - which she still continues to do today, as well as being team captain for her school, St Christopher’s Church of England in Accrington. When Scarlett was 12 and 13, she represented Lancashire in the under 13s category, playing her favourite positions of goal shooter and goal attack – and last October, at the age of 13, she successfully trialled for the under 15s for Lancashire. Playing her favourite sport most days of the week, the teenager also coaches the younger members of her club at Burnley, helping them to develop their skills, whilst working towards a Level One Award for England Netball. At school, she also helps the teachers coach the younger teams. Scarlett said: “I am extremely committed to my netball, having worked hard in all aspects of the sport. I am also dedicated to helping other players - both younger and the same age as me - to develop their own skills, and believe my commitment and own achievements help to encourage them to raise their own aspirations.”

Benjamin Cooper - from Higherford

Benjamin Cooper - from Higherford

Benjamin is an academy player at Blackpool Football Club. He also plays the sport for Lancashire and the England ISFA team for national schoolboys – having played for the under-14s and being selected for the under-15s squad this coming season. The 15-year-old, who wants to pursue a career in football, says playing at academy, county and national level is a real honour, and as fitness is vitally important to him, would love to complement his training closer to home using Pendle Leisure Trust’s facilities.

Fenn Turner – from Salterforth

Fenn Turner – from Salterforth

Fenn is a member of Skipton Swimming Club. Part of the competitive squad, the 15-year-old trains with like-minded swimmers 7 times a week and drives to be the best she can be. Her dedication and hard work have paid off and she is currently Yorkshire Champion 50m Breaststroke long course and short course. 2022 means a move to the Open Age Group Regionals, having gained qualification times for these events. Now her next goal is to qualify for Nationals and with the help and support of a gym programme with Pendle Leisure Trust, she feels she can progress and improve her strength and conditioning. Fenn attends West Craven High School and, along with other subjects, is completing her Health and Fitness Certificate. She is an outgoing, ambitious, dedicated and competitive person and has received numerous high achievement awards.

>Hamza Butt - from Nelson Hamza Butt - from Nelson

Hamza is a rising star in rugby league. He began at the age of 8, playing for his local side Keighley Albion before being spotted by Wigan Warriors and beginning a scholarship with them whilst still making appearances for his local community team. He has also played for Wigan St. Patricks as well as try-outs for rugby union side Sale Sharks. He uses Pendle Leisure Trust facilities to continue to improve his strength, power and fitness as part of his quest to become a professional rugby league player. On top of his rugby commitments, he is also a talented footballer and basketball player

Thomas Clamp - from Colne Thomas Clamp - from Colne

Proving that crown green bowling isn’t just for an older generation, Thomas has been bowling since 2014. In 2022, he won the County Junior Championships and he is the youngest bowler to represent the East Lancashire Federation at full national league level. He bowls at PWCGBA (Alkincoats Park), Foulridge Bowling Club and Cononley Bowling Club and in addition to wanting to bowl at an elite level, Tom is becoming a qualified coach and aims to be fully qualified as part of his career.

Hamza Asghar – from Nelson

Already a multiple-title winner in the world of Olympic wrestling, Hamza has been training since he was 6. A gold winner at the National Wrestling Competition in Sept 2022 he has now been selected for the GB Wrestling National Team! As part of the ‘Team GB Talent Squad’ Hamza has two elite training camp sessions a month but when back in Pendle we are delighted to be able to help Hamza continue his fitness and training – good luck with a glittering career Hamza!

In 2023, Hamza has now signed a 1 year athlete agreement with team GB and has recently been with the national training squad in Germany for 1 week. He also has competitions coming up in France, Finland, and Estonia. This year, Hamza has also won bronze in English and British junior's competition in the U15 category at the age of only 13! He tells us how that the Seedhill track has been vital in his speed work and agility while training. 

2021 Enrolment

Meet the 2021 Talented Athletes

2020 Enrolment

Meet the 2020 Talented Athletes


Amelia Redfearn - from Colne

Amelia Redfearn - from Colne

Amelia is a competitive swimmer for Skipton Swimming Club. She started swimming for Colne Swimming Club when she was just seven years old. At the age of 10, she qualified to compete at the Yorkshire Championships. Since then, she has achieved North East Regional times. The 12-year-old has been representing Skipton Swimming Club for the last two years and is part of the competitive squad. She hopes to compete at the National Championships within the next two years – with an ambitious ultimate goal of competing in the Olympic Games. Her favourite stroke is Butterfly and 200m is her preferred distance. She has only swum 200m Butterfly twice - the first time she swam it competitively, she qualified for the Lancashire Championships and the Yorkshire Championships – which resulted in her qualifying for the North East Regional Championships! Amelia, who swims six times a week - even in the current climate – is ranked in the top 50 for 200m Butterfly in the UK for her age group.

Lucille Pickles - from Earby Lucille Pickles - from Earby

Lucille runs for Barlick Fell Runners and has just received her first Lancashire Cross-Country Vest in her first year, therefore qualifying for county representation. Her aim is to continue representing Lancashire over the next few years and then when she is eligible, compete for an England Vest. Lucille is the current Lancashire U13’s Fell Champion; has just achieved a Bronze Medal in the Lancashire Cross-Country Championships and a Bronze Medal in the English Fell Running Championship Series last year, where she was the youngest in her age category. As a pupil at Skipton Girls’ High School, Lucille represents North Yorkshire at English Schools Cross-Country. She uses Seedhill Athletics Track in Nelson, for most of her training and the swimming pool at West Craven Sports Centre in Barnoldswick, for additional fitness training.

Robert Holmes - from Higherford

Robert represents Pendle Ski Club, Team Evolution Ski Racing and Team GB Under 21s Alpine Squad in Alpine Skiing. He has been a member of Pendle Ski Race Squad since the age of eight, where his passion for ski-racing started. He is now a member of Team GB Alpine Squad and in January 2020 represented Great Britain at the Winter Youth Olympics in Switzerland. During the winter months, Robert trains in Austria, but when he is at home, he regularly trains at Pendle Leisure Trust’s Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre in Nelson and Pendle Leisure Centre in Colne. The Trust has been supporting Robert on his path to skiing success for the last few years. He said: “The use of Pendle Leisure Trust’s fitness facilities has been crucial in my fitness, strength and conditioning training in the years leading up to my youth Olympic selection and continues to be so in my next level of skiing.”

Since Robert first joined the Talented Athletes Programme, he has now competed in the 2022 World Junior Championships in Canada and the 2023 World Junior Championships in Austria. He continues to use his Activo membership to train while at home and advocates for how important all-around fitness is to allow him to compete at a World level.

Charlotte Holmes - from Higherford

Charlotte represents Team GB Junior Alpine Squad in Alpine Ski Racing. Since 2020, she has acheived several skiing titles – U16 English and british Dryslope Champion; U16 English and British Indoor Champion; U14 British Overall Alpine Champion; Dryslope Ambassador; Team GB children’s athlete who has represented Great Britain in Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Charlotte’s goals were to follow her brother into FIS Ski Racing, whilst continuing to represent Great Britain. When Charlotte was 14-year-old she was given the role of Dryslope Ambassador by Snowsport England for being a role model and constantly taking time out from her busy training schedule to liaise with younger athletes, giving advice and guidance. Charlotte is based in Austria for most of the winter months, but when she is home, she uses Pendle Leisure Trust’s facilities to train. 

In 2023, she competed in the European Youth Olympic Games, a great achievement for her and her goals!

Harvey Pennington – from Colne

Harvey Pennington – from Colne

Harvey is a member of Skipton Swimming Club. He gained Yorkshire County qualifying times at the age of 10, which made him eligible to be selected to join the competitive swimming squad and development pathway. He continued to develop in three strokes – freestyle, back and fly – competing in a variety of distances from 50m to 400m – and quickly progressing from county championships to qualifying for the North Eastern Regional Championships in all three strokes. But last year was Harvey’s most successful year, where he was ranked 14th in England for the 100m freestyle event and invited to compete at the English National Championships. He also played an integral part in the club’s 14-16 years boys’ team, qualifying for the 400m and 800m freestyle and medley teams at the British Swimming Championships. He said: “I look forward to being ranked high nationally again this year and once again being invited to compete at the 2020 Summer English National Swimming Championships.”

Madison Turner - from Salterforth

Madison Turner - from Salterforth

Madison is a member of Skipton Swimming Club. In 2015, after just one swimming competition for her local club, she was offered a place on the squad. In 2018, she achieved a top ranking to gain a place at English Nationals and in 2019 she gained three top 20 ranking places in Great Britain, which gained her qualification and entry into the British Championships. Over the last 5 years, Madison has broken and holds many club records for her age group and also the open age group, as well as winning numerous medals at the County Championships. The 15-year-old, who currently ranks 14th in Great Britain for the 100m backstroke and 21st for the 50m backstroke, is busy training for qualification and entry into the British Championships in April this year. She said: “This is dubbed the Olympic Qualifier - where swimmers compete for times that will gain them entry to the squad going to Tokyo 2020. While I’m not at Olympic level, it will be an amazing experience to travel to London and swim in the Aquatics Centre that was home to the 2012 London Games.”

Jack Villiers – from Earby

Jack Villiers – from Earby

Jack is a member of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. The 15-year-old started running four years ago and in this time he has represented Pendle in the Lancashire Schools Cross-Country Championships for the last four years and qualified twice to represent Lancashire in the English Schools Cross-Country Finals. Jack has earned three Lancashire Vests to represent his county, twice at cross-country and once at fell running last year, where he helped the team win bronze in the Junior Inter-Counties Fell Running Championships. He said: “I would love to become the Lancashire Fell Champion at Pendle Hill in April, after finishing second for the last three years. This would then see me qualify to run for Lancashire again in the Junior Inter-Counties Fell Running Championships, where I'd like to help the team medal again, hopefully improving on the bronze we won last year. “Ultimately, I want to qualify to represent England and run for my country in the Junior Home Internationals in Northern Ireland in September. Having access to Pendle Leisure Trust’s facilities will boost my training and help me to achieve my goals!”

Lois Page - from Nelson

Lois Page - from Nelson

Lois plays for the Under 16s Lancashire School Girls County Football Team. She has been playing for the past seven years for a variety of teams and now plays in goal for Lancashire. Her aim is to eventually play professionally, as well as coach professional teams. Lois has already coached younger year teams in her school and volunteered at holiday clubs run by Pendle Leisure Trust’s Up and Active Team. The 15-year-old has won numerous awards for her coaching and playing – with her proudest achievement winning a prize of a week playing and coaching at a college in America from the Youth Sport Trust. Off the back of this trip, Lois is now a Young Event Host and travels the country giving inspirational and motivating speeches, as well as hosting national and regional events. The talented athlete also plays hockey for Pendle Forest Women’s Team in the North Premier League.