Two of Britain’s top sports people launched our nationwide search for talented young athletes. England football captain John Terry and Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman are supporting King of Shaves’ search for talented youngsters to join the ‘Young Blades’ programme for 2008.

The Young Blades initiative, now in its 5th year, was first launched by Champion hurdler, Colin Jackson with the aim of providing financial support for talented young athletes. It has now been extended to include mentoring advice from King of Shaves’ elite sporting ambassadors Shelley Rudman and John Terry.

Each Young Blade receives £1,000 per year towards their training, kit and competition costs and will have access to a unique online mentoring tool, allowing them to share experiences and ask for advice from experts including Shelley and John. The search for more youngsters to join the group in 2008 and take a big step towards achieving their ambition of joining Britain’s sporting elite has now finished - we will tell you all about who has been selected shortly!

Will King, founder and CEO of King of Shaves comments: "Young Blades is a long term commitment from King of Shaves which has developed and evolved to provide youngsters with expert knowledge from the very top through John and Shelley. With my parents being teachers, they instilled in me the desire to ‘learn to do better’ whenever you can.

We are continuing this initiative to offer much needed financial support and advice at a grass roots level to the next generation of sporting stars who are dedicated and enthusiastic about aiming for their ultimate goal of becoming World Champions and Olympic medallists."

Use the menu below to view our current Young Blades:

Hopefuls who think they’ve got what it takes to become the next Shelley Rudman or John Terry, can nominate themselves directly, or via their coach, teacher or headmaster.

To apply, click here. Please note that the Young Blades scheme is open to applicants from the UK only aged 21 and under.

"I'm excited about being involved with the Young Blades initiative and believe that with the correct support and advice we have enough talent in this country to produce more world class athletes, World Champions and Olympic medallists. I'm really looking forward to meeting and supporting the Young Blades and hope that I can play a part in helping them to go all the way."

John Terry
England and Chelsea captain

"I think this is a great initiative from King of Shaves. From my own personal experience I know how hard it is to support yourself and raise funds as well as having to train and compete. I'm really pleased to be involved with the Young Blades programme and I'm looking forward to helping some young athletes by providing them with practical guidance and mentoring support. This is a fantastic opportunity that definitely shouldn’t be missed by any youngster who is serious about their sport and believes they can reach the top!"

Shelley Rudman
Olympic Silver Medallist

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