Talented volleyball and basketball players can now benefit from new scholarship programmes being established by the University of Essex.

This week the University confirmed that volleyball and basketball will be ‘focus sports’ from this year with students looking to start at Essex this autumn able to apply for an extensive support package.

A performance coach for each sport is being appointed and gifted players who receive scholarships will receive a cash award of up to £2,500 and daily training both at the University and in conjunction with National League teams and national coaches.

There will also be opportunities to play weekly at both university representative and national league level. Other support includes free strength and conditioning coaching, free use of sports facilities and free physiotherapy and medical care. Sports scholarship students can also take advantage of the high-quality sports science testing and support offered by the Human Performance Unit based at the University, which has an international reputation for working with elite sports men and women.

Susy Davies said: “Our scholarships for talented volleyball and basketball players will provide extensive support to help students reach their sporting potential at an elite level. We also support our sports scholars to reach their academic potential by offering them the chance to study at a leading university which is ranked 10th in the UK for the quality of its research. ”

The University has a strong reputation for sporting excellence and already has targeted scholarship programmes in place for cricket - thanks to a partnership with Essex County Cricket Club - and squash.

Over the past few years talented athletes based at Essex have included Paralympic javelin thrower Scott Moorhouse, Under-21 European Kata champion Emma Lucraft, British Universities and College Sport (BUCS) 100m champion Adeseye Ogunlewe and Roy Nwachukwu, a member of the Norwegian Basketball team in the World University Games.

The Sports Scholarship team has also developed partnerships with Tendring Technology College and Boswells School in Chelmsford which both have volleyball academies, and Copelston High School which hosts the Ipswich Basketball Academy.

For an informal chat about these scholarship opportunities call Dave Parry on 01206 87 3254 or Susy Davies on 01206 87 3016. You can also visit our clearing homepage for details on courses at the University at: www.essex.ac.uk/clearing