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Essex: Family remortgage to help sailing son
2:10pm Friday 29th August 2008
Comments (1)THE Essex parents of a 2012 Olympic hopeful are remortgaging their home to help their son fulfil his dream.
The revelation comes as a new report shows parents are forking out thousands of pounds a year to help realise their children’s Olympic aspirations.
The true cost of getting youngsters to perform at top-level sports was published today.
It is thought the average parent in East Anglia spends £535 a year on kit, competitions and transport.
Expenses increase dramatically for high achievers and there are fears that is holding future champions back.
Nic Evans, of West Mersea, told the Gazette he was remortgaging his house to fund his son Martin’s sailing career.
The 16-year-old is tipped as one of the hopefuls for London 2012 and is about to enter the Laser Standard Class – the men’s Olympic Laser category.
It has cost his parents about £10,000 this year.
Mr Evans said: “We’re in the process of remortgaging the house because we’ve maxed out all the credit cards.
“Martin’s fortunate enough that he is able to do it one way or another.
“The problem is that some people of Martin’s age and calibre may drop out of the system before they reach their potential.
“There are probably a lot more potential Olympic sailors out there w
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sailor Martin Evans was selected to represent Great Britain in the Youth World Championships, but his family say the sport’s cost mean other hopefuls
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Boris, Colchester says...
9:22pm Fri 29 Aug 08
There are of course cheaper sports like athletics or football but then there is a lot more competition. And £535 a year, as mentioned in the article, sounds like an underestimate of the cost of supporting your child in these more affordable sports, even if he/she is only competing in local (north east Essex) events.