GB Paralympian to graduate this winter
3 December 2012
Louise Hunt, who represented the ParalympicsGB team in wheelchair tennis at the London 2012 Games, will graduate with a foundation degree at our Winter Award Ceremonies on Tuesday 11 December.
Twenty-one year old Louise will graduate with a Foundation Degree in Sports Performance having most recently experienced success after claiming her fifth International Tennis Federation women’s doubles title of the year with victory at the Nottingham indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.
The London 2012 Games captivated a world-wide audience and to have competed in such a prestigious and elite event was a significant moment in Louise’s life.
She said: “To have represented Great Britain in the Paralympics was a real honour for me and I am very proud to have achieved what I did. Experiencing the Games as both a competing athlete and spectator was a moment I will never forget.”
Having completed her degree, the Swindon-based wheelchair tennis athlete hopes to continue competing in her sport through to the Rio 2016 Games. She has also recently completed a counselling course and is looking to continue studying alongside her sporting ambitions.
And Louise knows how demanding it is to try and combine both academic studies with elite training having successfully juggled her time whilst at the University.
She said: “It was a bit hectic. But I love to be busy and my aim was always to graduate from University and go to the Games in the same year, and I did it!
“I loved being at Bath, the support from all my lecturers and sports coaches was fantastic, they certainly helped make my ambitions possible.”
Louise’s impressive tennis skills may be attributed to the many hours she spent knocking the ball over the net of her neighbour’s tennis courts when she was young.
She recalled: “I first started playing tennis when I was five years old. We moved house and our neighbours had a tennis court in their back garden, so I just played with all the family. Then four tennis courts were built opposite my house, so it was like I was destined to play tennis!
“Up until the age of 18 I also competed in wheelchair racing, winning seven out of ten London mini wheelchair marathons. Although I enjoyed racing my heart always lay with tennis and there was a time I had to choose one of them.
“I went to the Stoke Mandeville primary and junior games for years, and that is where I found out about how I could really get involved with tennis and the opportunities it could lead to. I met some of the national coaches there and they were very keen for me to pursue tennis from the start.
“I was put on the GB performance squad at 12 years old and competed for my country for the first time at 13 years old. I enjoy the training and competing a lot more for tennis than I did racing, and the opportunity to travel doing something you love is also amazing. I have had the privilege to work with and meet so many incredible people who have inspired me along my journey.”
University of Bath Director of Sport, Stephen Baddeley, said: “The University of Bath prides itself on supporting talented sportsmen and women to achieve both their sporting and academic potential and Louise is a wonderful example of this. We are especially proud of our involvement with Paralympic sport and it was a personal delight to be amongst the spectators as Louise competed in London 2012.”
