Isle of Man Sponsorship

Future Manx fencing stars scoop Olympic boost

THE ISLAND’S future Olympic hopefuls recently landed a lucky opportunity. The young fencing team has received funding from commemorative coin and medal specialist, The London Mint Office. The donation will help the island’s talented young fencers train with commonwealth veteran fencing legend, Mr Henry de Silva, aged 77 of Andreas.

Mr de Silva who’s lived on the island for the past 15 years has been a keen numismatist for most of his life. He’s a particular fan of The London Mint’s range of collectable items, particularly the Olympic ingots, which the specialist commemorative organisation is producing to celebrate the 2012 Games.

Mr de Silva said, ‘I saw how involved the London Mint is in the Olympics and thought as a long-time customer they might want to support the Isle of Man’s youth fencing team. I was delighted when they stepped forward and made a donation.’

Nick Hart, coin expert and spokesperson for The London Mint Office, said: ‘We’re always keen to support talented, young individuals. Mr de Silva’s suggestion about the Isle of Man Olympic-hopefuls caught our attention. We’re extremely proud to help where we can and will be keeping in contact with their commonwealth master to hear how the squad progresses.’