Budding Liverpool athletes are being encouraged to bid for money to help them achieve their sporting goal.

Three bursaries of up to £300 are available, targeted at youngsters aged from 9-18 who are aiming to, or have already been selected to represent the city nationally in their chosen field.

The bursaries are provided by Liverpool Sports Forum, and the money should go towards travel costs and entry fees.

The criteria for applicants are:

• Athletes must be between 9 and 18 years old
• All applicants must live in Liverpool
• Any application must be supported by any Sport England recognised National Governing Body (NGB) who can confirm levels achieved and events entered
• Any successful recipient will not be allowed to apply for this scheme again for three years

Anyone interested must submit a written application of no more than 500 words outlining their level of performance, success achieved to date, training details and the cost to the individual of pursuing their ambitions. Other financial support and sporting aspirations/targets for 2016 should be outlined and a reference must also be provided by a NGB representative.

All applications or queries should be sent to martin.jones14@liverpool.gov.uk by 5pm Thursday 1 September.

Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Member responsible for sport, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:

“We are committed to doing anything we can to support young people who are trying to achieve their sporting ambitions.

“Travel fees and costs associated with entering competitions can mount up, so these bursaries go a long way in covering expenditure which youngsters and their families would generally have to pay out for.

“We have a huge pool of sporting talent in Liverpool, and I’m pleased we can offer these bursaries which will go some way to enable our future stars to reach their full potential.”