West Midlands Technical Assistant skates to success in global ice hockey tournaments

A Shropshire-based Technical Assistant is skating her way to success across the globe and taking part in a range of international ice hockey tournaments.

Grace Garbett flew out to Lake Placid in January to take part in the Winter World University Games, a celebration of international university sports and culture. She competed against top teams such as Canada, America, Japan, Czech, and Slovakia. Following this, Grace then travelled to Poland in February to compete against Italy, Poland, and Denmark in the four-nations tournament.

Grace is currently completing a degree in Civil and Transportation Engineering, sponsored by the team at Persimmon. Further supported by her colleagues in the West Midlands office, Grace has been granted time off to train and compete as well as given a funding boost by the regional office.

Grace said: “Being able to travel to the US and Poland to compete is hugely exciting and a brilliant opportunity. Through these trips, I’ve been able to meet fellow ice hockey players from all over the world and take part in some intense and challenging tournaments.

Since joining Persimmon, I’ve felt empowered to achieve both my personal and professional goals. Whether through sponsorships, giving me time off to train and go to tournaments, or simply just friendly words of encouragement, I know Persimmon was cheering me on.”

Daniel Hassall, Managing Director at West Midlands region, said: “The whole team are so proud of Grace as she furthers her sporting career. Being able to travel across the world to represent her university as well as Team GB is a wonderful opportunity – and we’re delighted to support her in any way that we can.”