LSF Athletes & the Gordon Hall Memorial Fund

Do you compete in a recognised sport at a competitive level? You could become one of our LSF Athletes! We want to help you achieve your goals and be your best. The Gordon Hall Memorial Fund was created to aid you in your accomplishments.

The GH Memorial Fund was set up in memory of Gordon Hall, our Managing Director from 1998 to 2019, who sadly passed away in 2019. The aim of the fund is to provide financial support to our employees, personal trainers and members who train with us and compete in a recognised sport at a national or international level on a self-funded basis. Funding can be used towards travel and event participation costs with grants up to the value of £2,500 available.

This was something that Gordon strongly believed in and encouraged throughout his time with Lifestyle Fitness. This fund aims to continue his legacy and help us remember Gordon whilst giving back to our staff and members who want to accomplish their goals. Our roster of LSF Athletes compete in a variety of different sports, from short distance running to Judo! Here are just a few of our current athletes who are competing:

Adam Courtney
Adam is a member at Lifestyle Fitness Ballymena, and a part of Ballymena & Antrim Athletics Club and also Athletics NI Youth Academy. At 16, he is the youngest of our current athletes and is studying AS subjects at Dunclug College alongside his training. 2021 saw him compete at international level for Ireland SIABS (Schools International Athletics Board) in Derbyshire, which also saw Adam competing as part of the Ulster Squad in the Tailteann Schools Interprovincial Championships in Dublin.  From this, he was also chosen to represent Ireland as part of the 400m team.
Adam is currently ranked 10th in the UK at the 400m sprint, improving his time by 3 seconds from the start of 2021 to the end, and is currently looking to compete at the European level. Adam currently has the opportunity to attend warm weather training in Portugal this Easter with the Youth Academy, and support from the GHMF has assisted him with this!

Callum Spencer
Callum is a new athlete to benefit from the fund, who has recently smashed a national Judo contest, winning five out of five competitions and gaining a gold medal!
Callum, who is a member at our Stourport branch and competes for Samurai Judo Club, fought in a weight category above his own which also included four higher grade black belt opponents, helping him automatically gain 40 points towards his 2nd Dan black belt. It’s no wonder Callum was nominated for Player of The Year at his local club!

Matthew Douthwaite
Matthew is a member at Lifestyle Fitness Shildon. Another short distance sprinter, he also specializes in 400m but is additionally competing at the 200m sprint.
Matthew competes regionally and nationally. When asked about what his training looked like, Matthew said that a typical season would include participation in North East Counties, North East Grand Prix, Tyne Tees Grand Prix, Northern Athletics Open, Northern Athletics Indoor Senior Championship and the Scottish National Championship.  Matthew also competes for Durham City Harriers AC in regional leagues.
Competitions for northern based athletes are held at Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Morpeth, Hexham, Jarrow, Whitley Bay, Doncaster, Sheffield, Manchester and Glasgow, which can mean time away and lots of traveling. Matthew splits his competing up based on the time of year; Indoor competitions from December to February and outdoor from April to August. In 2018/19, Matthew was ranked in the top 50 indoors for his age group and in his time improved for a 400m PB from 52.5 secs to 50.38 secs outdoors, placing him 2nd in the North East! 

Matthew's hard work and dedication can’t be overstated, Matthew was diagnosed with Crohns, but refused o let it stop him reaching his goals. Matthew said that “After being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease In 2020, my training and performance took a hit.  However, since receiving medication and treatment, I have worked extremely hard in an attempt to regain my previous levels of performance.  My target is to achieve sub 50 seconds and my ultimate aim would be to compete for Team GB and/or the England Commonwealth Games team.” We have faith that Matthew will be able to reach both of his targets!

Do you think you could be our LSF Athlete? Get in touch with us for more info at enquiries@lifestylefitness.co.uk or contact your local club to apply!