GB women’s volleyball team aims to beat Olympic funding cuts

July 26, 2010

The Great Britain women’s volleyball team has undertaken a 272-mile bike ride to raise the £250,000 (US$387,000) necessary to allow them to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Funding cuts have meant the team may have to cancel training programmes, harming their chances of being competitive at the 2012 Games.

The team is due to finish the ride in London on Tuesday, two years exactly until the opening ceremony for the Games.

Coach Audrey Cooper said: “It’s no surprise to me the girls are doing this, knowing their determination and energy. They are not prepared to turn up at London 2012 under-prepared. They want to be as good as they can be at our home Olympics to make the country proud.

“We started from nothing in 2007 and we’ve improved out of sight since then. We are simply not prepared to give up now.”

Volleyball was one of eight Olympic sports to have had London 2012 funding slashed in January because of a £50 million (US$77.5 million) budget shortfall.