CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), has announced a partnership with SportsAid to help young talented athletes achieve their sporting ambitions. Nine athletes from across England, Scotland and Wales, aged between 15 and 24 and specialising in sports including athletics, disability athletics, cycling, swimming, gymnastics and basketball will each receive a financial SportsAid Award from CGI.
This SportsAid sponsorship follows CGI’s recent announcement of their partnership as the official Systems Integration, BPS and IT Outsourcing partner of Team England, Team Scotland and Team Wales for the Commonwealth Games in 2018. The funding will help these dedicated young athletes to fulfil their potential by helping them with essential training costs, travel and competition expenses.
Among those being supported by CGI are some of Britain’s brightest hopes for future Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth and world championship success, including swimmer Katie Matts, 16 from Manchester, who last year won the British under-16 title for 100m breaststroke. “Swimming has made me self-sufficient, determined and organised,” explains Katie. “It has given me valuable lessons and the self-belief to achieve.”
In August 2015, Katie will be one of 12 swimmers representing Great Britain at the FINA World Junior Championships in Singapore. She says the SportsAid Award she is receiving from CGI will be invaluable for helping towards her training costs, travel expenses, overseas training camps and racing suits in the build up to the event.
Twenty-four-year-old discus and shot put thrower Ashleigh Hellyer from Swansea said, “I am very grateful to receive this SportsAid Award from CGI. It will help enormously towards my travelling costs, kit, equipment, gym and instructor fees, and protein supplements. My throwing frame alone cost £600.”
Previous beneficiaries of SportsAid include Mo Farah CBE, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Chris Hoy, Ellie Simmonds OBE, Sir Bradley Wiggins, David Weir CBE, Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE and many other successful sportsmen and women. The charity’s patron is Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
Tim Lawler, Chief Executive of SportsAid said, “CGI’s sponsorship will make an enormous difference to these athletes who are without doubt some of the nation’s brightest prospects. The cost of their sport is a daily challenge so the support of CGI will be a massive boost. This is an exciting new partnership for SportsAid and it will make an instant impact.”
Tim Gregory, President of CGI UK said: “We are delighted to support SportsAid, which has such an excellent track record in fostering the best of British sporting talent. Identifying and supporting talent is key, whether in sport or business and we are looking forward to watching the progress of these budding athletes over the next few years and hope that we will make a contribution to the sporting stars of the future.”
The full list of all nine athletes who are benefiting from CGI’s support for SportsAid this year are:
- Hannah Brier (athletics), 17 from Neath in Port Talbot
- Shaun Burrows (disability athletics), 17 from Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire
- Ashleigh Hellyer (disability athletics), 24 from Swansea
- Josh Kerr (athletics), 17 from Edinburgh
- Katie Matts (swimming), 16 from Manchester
- Isabella Montagna (gymnastics), 16 from Twickenham in London
- Gabriele Nikitinaite (basketball), 16 from Orpington in Kent
- Oliver Postle (cycling), 16 from Newport in Monmouthshire
- Lewis Stewart (cycling), 16 from Glasgow
For more information on CGI’s sponsorship, visit http://www.cgi.com/uk/sportsaid
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Approximately 68,000 professionals serve thousands of global clients from offices and delivery centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, leveraging a comprehensive portfolio of services including high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure management as well as a wide range of proprietary solutions. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog of C$20 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com.
For more information
Janine Bailey
Vice-President, Marketing and Communications
Janine.bailey@cgi.com
+44 7766 420850
About SportsAid
SportsAid helps young sports people from more than 60 sports 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. Established in 1976, next year SportsAid will be celebrating its 40th anniversary.
