Earlier this month Neil Harley, who is a member of the Southampton Canoe Club, received a letter informing him that he has been selected to represent GB at the World games in Athens in 2011.

Neil has a learning disability and receives a great deal of support from his family who were thrilled by the news of his selection to the GB team. Neil has been Kayaking only for a very short space of time - 2 years - which makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

The Games takes place in Athens, June 19th to 5th July next year, so Neil has a hard summer and winter ahead of him.Neil is really look forward to the challenge but has never been abroad before so this will be a completely new adventure for him.

Neil was nominated for the GB team after his performance at the National Special Olympics in Leicester in 2008 where he won two silver medals in the 200m K1 and 500m K1.  In the 500m he achieved second fastest in the Country, an amazing achievement. Each time he paddled through the heats and finals he achieved personal bests.

Southampton Canoe Club have worked tirelessly to gain funding to help with training and equipment and in 2008 Active Southampton were very happy to contribute £1000 through the Active Southampton Well Being Fund to help support Neil and his teammates access specialist kayaking coaching for a year. 

The club are in the process of looking into fund raising activities to help Neil get to Athens next year, so watch this space for details on how you can help.

Everyone associated at Active Southampton would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Neil on his amazing achievements and will be fully behind him when he competes in Athens next summer.