Team Talk: Claire Bennett – DKHT

I am a former international fencer for Great Britain and I have been fencing since the age of 10. I have represented Great Britain internationally at Cadet, Junior and Senior level from the age of 14 including European Championships and World Championships. One of my proudest moments in my fencing career was captaining the England team to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Games in 2010.

I am a former international fencer for Great Britain and I have been fencing since the age of 10. I have represented Great Britain internationally at Cadet, Junior and Senior level from the age of 14 including European Championships and World Championships. One of my proudest moments in my fencing career was captaining the England team to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Fencing Games in 2010.

I am also an athlete mentor at the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and I feel lucky enough to be working in partnership with Andrea and the team at Dallaglio Rugby Works London. DRW’s passions and values are very similar to my own. I am passionate about supporting young people to achieve their potential through the power of sport. Andrea is fantastic at engaging the group in rugby and other fun sporting activities. He brings the team together, encourages a sense of togetherness, and brings out the best in each individual. It is a wonderful feeling to be supporting our group of young people and use the mentoring skills that I have acquired at DKHT to make a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of our group. We are empowering the group by encouraging positive self-reflection and building their soft skills such as confidence, motivation, dedication and discipline, which will in turn increase their employability and life skills. The young people are also completing a Sports Leaders qualification and are training to compete in a major rugby tournament together as a team.   

Right from my very first session, I have felt so welcome and proud to be part of such a motivated and engaged team. It feels good to build rapport with the young people, watch them grow, develop, and come back week after week. They inspire me and motivate me to be a better performing person. We leave each session with a spring in our step, knowing that we gave it our all and supported each other to bring out the best in each other.

I know first hand how impactful sport and mentoring can be on a young person’s life. Mentors and organisations like DRW and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust change young people’s lives for the better. They help them to achieve things they never thought possible, they offer support, encouragement, and lift them up to be the best that they can possibly be. It’s a huge honour to be working in partnership with DRW, DKHT, and Andrea is a special coach and mentor to the young people.

I am excited to see how much our group will progress over the coming year. I will be their number one supporter and mentor when they play together in their rugby tournament. We have so much to look forward to, and I couldn’t be more proud of the commitment and dedication our young people have shown. Onwards and upwards!