KJT Academy applications open for talented college students

Talented college sport students from the North West have a unique opportunity to apply for a place at a new academy set up by Commonwealth and World Champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, or KJT as she is widely known, has set up the KJT Academy to support talented young athletes. The Academy, which is supported by the LFC Foundation, will help to address some of the inequalities within Olympic and Paralympic sports by allocating places exclusively to talented 16 – 21-year-old athletes from the North West of England who identify as being from diverse ethnic communities and who are, or have been, in the state education system. Her motivation to set up the KJT Academy stems from her personal journey growing up as a mixed race female girl in Liverpool with ambitions of sporting greatness. She said: “Reaching your full potential in sport, and in life, should not be about what you look like or how much money you have, it should be about your passion, your desire and your willingness to work hard. I couldn’t be prouder or more excited to be able to help young athletes from the most underserved parts of our community in whatever way I can. "I want to thank the LFC Foundation for their support and all of my partners for coming on this journey with me. Their unwavering support and desire to also help in such a cause is something that I am and I’m sure the KJT Academy members will be hugely grateful for.” The KJT Academy will provide its members with a range of support services and experiences to help them reach their full potential both in sport and in life. Such experiences will include direct access to and mentoring sessions with KJT, supply of training kit, nutritional advice and products to fuel correctly, massage devices to aid recovery, prevent injury and support rehab as well as mental health support and career planning. To apply for an Academy place you must:

• Be based in or from the North West of England
• Class yourself as being from a diverse ethnic community
• Currently be in or have been in the state school system
• Be aged 16-21 as of 31st March 2021
• Have competed in your chosen sport to at least county level or equivalent
• Please note, the KJT Academy will not be accepting applicants for men's football

The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday 19 March 2021 with Academy places being announced in April 2021. Further details and an online application form can be found on KJT’s website.