The Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, will carry out a solo engagement on Wednesday 12 November. Kensington Palace has confirmed that sporty Kate, who is a keen fan of tennis, sailing and hockey among other sports, will attend a workshop run by youth charity SportsAid. The Duchess has been patron of the charity – which supports aspiring athletes with financial support – since 2013.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDuchess Kate became royal patron of SportsAid in 2013
Kate will travel to the GSK Human Performance Lab in Brentford, West London where she will meet young athletes who are potential Tokyo 2020 Olympic candidates. The budding sportsmen and women will take part in a number of advanced performance tests, in a special environmental chamber set to match the heat and humidity of Tokyo. Activities will include strength and power assessments, cognitive testing and body composition analysis. Athletes supported by SportsAid are typically aged 12 to 18, who are helped with costs in travel, training, accommodation, competition fees and equipment. The charity also uses workshop days such as this one that Kate will witness to provide non-financial support whenever possible.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDuchess Kate played a game of volleyball at a SportsAid event last year
Last year the 32-year-old Duchess took part in a similar sporty day, also organised by the charity. At the time Kate had recently given birth to Prince George but showed she was game to support her patronage as she carried out the fun engagement. Casually dressed in skinny jeans, a blue and white striped top, navy blazer and wedges, the stylish royal joined in a volleyball match and also spent time watching games of fencing, badminton and wheelchair basketball. A few weeks later Prince William's wife also attended SportsAid's annual ball in London.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSporty Kate and Prince William at the London 2012 Olympics
Since SportsAid was established in 1976, the charity has helped many of the UK's most successful sportsmen and women, including two-thirds of the national team at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, by giving them cash awards during the defining early years of their careers. Kate is a keen ambassador of sport, and enthusiastically cheered on the nation's men and women during London 2012 in her role as official ambassador for Team GB and Paralympians GB.
