We are delighted that Amelia has joined our BRIT Ambassador family.
Amelia represents Great Britain in the Skeleton as a member of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton team and was Overall Europa Cup Champion in her debut season.
“As a former student at Sheffield Hallam University, and training with other young athletes at the University of Bath, I know that many young adults and students are struggling to cope with mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic is compounding existing mental health issues and it is imperative that we do everything we can to help young adults and students now, in order to avoid them experiencing long-term mental health difficulties. It is super to see that BRIT has partnered with PAPYRUS – Prevention of Young Suicide, Nightline Association, Student Minds and the Charlie Waller Trust so that all donations raised by the BRIT 2021 Challenge will be shared equally between five mental health charities who support students and young adults.
Delivering an annual UK-wide challenge, that can reach the 5million Higher Education and Further Education students, is a huge undertaking and it is great that BRIT are striving to uniting the education, sport and charity sectors to support and improve young adult mental health throughout the UK.
The BRIT 2021 Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for every UK university, college and students’ union to enter teams and encourage their students and staff to take part. With the BRIT 2021 Challenge drawing to a close on the 1st July 2021, I urge every UK university and college to add the BRIT Challenge in to their calendar of events as a February feel-good fundraiser.
The BRIT Challenge is inclusive and enables students and staff of all abilities to take part either on campus or at home. I think it’s great that there are so many ways to take part including hand-cycling, cycling, wheelchair pushing, swimming, walking, jogging, running, rowing or paddling (canoeing, kayaking or paddle-boarding).
I am thrilled to be joining the BRIT Ambassador family, along with my hero, Dame Kelly Holmes, to help support and improve young adult mental health and fitness throughout the UK. I will do everything I can to encourage my fellow Great Britain athletes to unite with us, and join our BRIT Ambassador family, so that young adults and students at every university and college are inspired to take part in the annual BRIT Challenge.
I look forward to supporting students and staff at the University of Bath as they take on the BRIT 2021 Challenge and encouraging Team Bath and Sheffield Hallam University to take on the BRIT 2022 Challenge next year.”
An all-round sportswoman, Amelia was a county high jump and long jump champion, and a keen hockey player, however her primary sporting focus prior to skeleton was racquet sports. She won a national silver medal with her school badminton team and was a county doubles champion and national mixed doubles champion in tennis before successfully coming through the UK Sport talent identification campaign, Discover Your Gold, in 2016/17.
Amelia joined the GB Skeleton Talent team in the summer of 2017 while a final year Sport and Exercise Science student at Sheffield Hallam University.
Amelia enjoyed a brilliant beginning to her racing career as she was crowned the 2020 Overall Europa Cup (EC) winner in her debut season. Having finished second in her first ever international race in December, Amelia became the first Brit to take the EC title in their maiden season of competitive sliding after she collected five medals across seven races. She won two gold, two bronze and a silver to finish well clear at the top of the rankings despite the fact that the British team sat out the sixth race of the season in Sigulda.
She stepped up to the sport's second tier circuit, the Intercontinental Cup, at the end of January 2020, finishing ninth and then seventh on her maiden visit to PyeongChang.
Based with the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton team at the University of Bath, Amelia is currently training for the 2021/2 season and hoping to represent Great Britain at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
To find out more about Amelia and the GB Team on the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton website.
You can follow Amelia on Twitter @acoltman and on Instagram @ameliacoltman