Laura Bartlett named BOA Hockey Athlete of the Year

Great Britain Hockey is delighted to announce Laura
Bartlett as its 2011 BOA Athlete of the Year.

The award is presented to the British athlete
deemed to have been the top performing athlete of year and is
selected by Great Britain Hockey on behalf of the British Olympic
Association.

Bartlett has been recognised for her outstanding performances
for Scotland over the past 12 months and for demonstrating the
Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect.

23 year old Bartlett played a significant role as Scotland won
the bronze medal at the FIH Champions Challenge I in June before
going on to win gold at the EuroHockey Nations Championships II in
August, sealing promotion to the top tier for 2013.  Her
performances have been all the more remarkable given her recovery
from a serious knee injury sustained in a match against Germany in
May 2010.

At the Champions Challenge I in Dublin, the Glasgow-born
midfielder kept her composure to score the deciding sudden death
penalty against Spain to win Scotland the bronze medal and was
subsequently named Player of the Tournament.

Bartlett’s summer of success also saw her feature as Scotland
lifted the Celtic Cup and won a three match series against South
Africa in July.

Laura Bartlett said:

“It is a great honour to receive such an award and I would like
to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. It has been a
great year to be part of such a successful Scotland squad.
 It’s been tough recovering from my injury and I would like to
thank all of the physio support that I received in Scotland and
England. I feel I’ve come back stronger and I’m looking forward to
the challenges over the next year.

Danny Kerry, Great Britain Head Coach, said:

“Laura’s continued growth stems from her attitude toward all the
challenges that elite performance provides. Injury setbacks,
training volume and feedback are all taken in a manner that means
business.  For this reason Laura continues to grow her game
and will push hard her case toward a competitive GB selection for
London 2012.

David Faulkner, Great Britain Hockey Performance Director,
said:

“I am delighted that Laura has been recognised, in particular
for the impressive manner in how she dealt with such a serious
injury in 2010 and returned to deliver some outstanding
performances for Scotland in 2011.  She has returned strongly
to the Great Britain programme in preparation for 2012.

Callum McLeod, Scottish Hockey Performance Manager, said:

“I regard Laura as one of Scotland’s best ever players.
 She has an incredible work ethic, determination to succeed
and resilience to setbacks.  She is a model athlete for any
young aspiring player to follow.  Laura showed that she had
become one of the top players in the women’s game with her
performance in the World Cup Qualifier in Chile in 2010.
 Although she suffered a setback with her injury she
demonstrated her mental toughness by returning to the game well
ahead of schedule and competing at her best in the Champions
Challenge 1 and EuroHockey Nations Championship II in 2011.
 I’m delighted that her qualities have been recognised with
this award.”

Bartlett grew up in Glasgow, playing for her school, Glasgow
Academy, from the age of nine.  A former player for Milne
Craig Western in Scotland’s top flight, she now plays her club
hockey for Reading in England’s Investec Women’s Premier
Division.

Having represented Scotland at every age group, Bartlett made
her senior international debut in the summer of 2007 before making
her first appearance for Great Britain in November of the same
year.  She was a member of the Great Britain youth team that
competed at the 2007 and 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festivals,
winning the gold medal on both occasions.  In 2008, Bartlett
was named as travelling reserve for Great Britain at the Beijing
Olympic Games.  Following an injury sustained by Jennie Bimson
in a pool phase match against New Zealand, Bartlett replaced the
Leicester defender to make her Olympic debut in the 2-1 win over
Japan, going on to help Great Britain secure sixth place.  
Since then, she has gone on to win 22 caps for Great Britain and 57
for Scotland.

The previous winners of the award are Crista Cullen (2006), Kate
Walsh (2007), Alistair McGregor (2008), Barry Middleton (2009) and
Helen Richardson (2010).

Laura Bartlett’s Profile

• Date of birth: 22 June 1988
• Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland
• Shirt number: 14
• Caps (goals): Great Britain 22 (2); Scotland 57 (*)
• Position: Midfield
• Current club: Reading
• Former clubs: Milne Craig Clydesdale Western
• School: Glasgow Academy
• Senior international debut: Summer 2007 v Ireland
• No. of major international medals: 1 EuroHockey Nations
  Championship II gold, 1 Champions Challenge I bronze
• No. of major international tournaments: 1 Olympic Games, 1
  World Cup Qualifier, 2 European Championships, 1 Champions
  Challenges
• Major domestic titles and medals: SUBWAY Eat Fresh Women’s
  National League Division 1, Women’s England Hockey League Premier
  Division

Recent posts:

• The last games in this season`s Premiership and loose ends still to tidy up
• Women’s Scottish Cup finalists confirmed
• Grange are just about there in the race for the Men`s Premiership title
• Men`s Premiership title in Grange`s own hands while Women’s Scottish Cup semis get underway
• Watsonians claim women’s Premiership title while Men’s Scottish Cup Final places are confirmed
• Edinburgh University win but Watsonians could seal the women`s title against Wildcats
• Watsonians women and Grange men return from Euros in search of domestic silverware
• Grange fourth and Watsonians fifth - that`s how the Euros finished
• Series win for Scotland women against Wales in Cardiff
• The Netherlands win U16 Easter 4 Nations in Glasgow