Former Bath sporting scholar Tim Nurse determined to make the most of Paris 2024 Olympic experience with Team GB hockey squad
University of Bath graduate Tim Nurse says he “will do everything I can to help” Team GB win men’s hockey gold after being named as a travelling reserve for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Nurse, who was supported by a King Scholarship while studying Sports Performance at the University from 2017 to 2021, is part of the wider 18 travelling to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir for this summer’s championships.
While he is disappointed not to be part of the playing squad, Nurse is determined to make the most of his Olympic Games opportunity as he builds towards the future and Los Angeles 2028.
“I feel very lucky and honoured to be part of the squad going to Paris,” said Nurse, who played for Team Bath Buccaneers while studying at the University.
“I’m a bit gutted not to be in the final 16 but I will do everything I can to help the team. To be honest, I wouldn’t have believed I would be this close if you’d asked me six months ago and it will be great to experience an Olympic Games with the squad we have.
“I want to soak it all in, really enjoy the moment and be the best team-mate I can be to the boys so we can achieve what we all set out to do as a squad and that’s win the gold medal.”
Nurse, from Bournemouth, made his senior international debut for Great Britain in April 2023 but gained plenty of age-group experience during his time as a student-athlete. He helped GB U21s win back-to-back Sultan of Johor Cup titles in 2017 and 2018, then captained the GB Hockey Men’s Development Squad in 2019.
He believes his time at University has played a huge role in his development as a player, saying: “Bath was such an amazing stepping stone in my career, I got incredible support from day one through my sports scholarship, the Dual Career Programme [now Breakthrough] and the help of my coaches, Jody Paul and Ian Cordwell.
“That experience definitely pushed me towards wanting this goal even more and helped me get to a place where I was in a position to be part of the England and GB senior squads.”
Nurse had previous worked with Cordwell, the University’s Hockey Head Coach, as a junior and said: “I’ve always said since I first met him aged 14 that I had this goal and I can’t thank him enough for the way he supported that dream.
“He has always backed me, he selected me in higher age groups as a junior to help accelerate my learning and then was here for me at Bath as both a friend and mentor. He’s helped me get where I am today.”
Cordwell said: “Tim absolutely deserves this amazing opportunity due to all of his hard work and dedication to his sport. We are all proud of Tim’s progress, and I am particularly proud as his coach at Team Bath during the three years he studied with us. Tim has an exceptional drive to be the best he can be and serves as a role model for any hockey player coming through the junior and senior pathways.”
Representing Team GB in the Olympic hockey competitions, which get under way on Saturday 27th July, are two former Team Bath Buccs players – Liam Sanford, who is heading to his second Games, and Sophie Hamilton, who will make her debut for a women’s team whose assistant coach is Jody Paul, former Head of Hockey at the University.
Visit teambath.com/hockey to find out more about the hockey programme at the University of Bath.
Top picture credit: Team GB.
