Lucy Garlick blown away after prestigious award nomination

By Oli Dickson Jefford

Carshalton climber Lucy Garlick admits she was blown away after being hand-picked as a nominee for a prestigious national award.

Garlick, 15, has been nominated for SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award, which recognises and celebrates Britain’s brightest sporting prospects who could dominate the back pages for years to come.

The south London star has racked up a series of top ten finish on the world and European stage in a year where she competed in Russia, the USA, Austria and Switzerland.

And after discovering she had been nominated for the One-to-Watch Award, the teenage ace – who is supported by a longstanding partnership between SportsAid and Royal Bank of Canada – says she did not even know receiving such an honour was a possibility.

Garlick said: “It wasn’t really expected, actually.

“I didn’t even know I had been nominated for it until I got the email. It was a big shock.

“I was really shocked and just quite honoured. I didn’t realise I’d have a chance to be nominated.

“My family didn’t really believe it at first, they thought it was like a scam email. Once they read into it they were really shocked too and really happy! I think my mum was the most shocked.

“The SportsAid support has been massive. It’s so expensive, the climbing, and the money that they gave me has really helped. And not just even the money, the support as well has been really good.”

SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award was first held back in 2006, when future Olympic champion and diving superstar Tom Daley was crowned the inaugural winner aged 12.

Daley isn’t the only notable name to have been recognised, with the likes of triathlete Alex Yee, para-athlete Hollie Arnold and boxer Caroline Dubois all previous winners too.

And while Garlick hasn’t thought too much about the possibility of winning quite yet, she admits that doing so would be a significant privilege.

She added: “I haven’t really thought about the possibility of winning.

“It would be a big, big honour.

“I don’t think I really believe it yet. I didn’t really know what the award was at first and then my mum was telling me about who had won it and who had been nominated for it.

“That’s when I really realised that it was such a big thing.”

The winner of SportsAid’s prestigious One-to-Watch Award will be revealed at the charity’s Celebrate the Next event, supported by Royal Bank of Canada, in London on Thursday 17 November. Please visit www.sportsaid.org.uk for further information.