Deeply rooted in the local community for almost 350 years, full-service law firm Tinsdills Solicitors are adding power to the paddle of North Staffordshire Paralympic canoeist, Ian Marsden.

Propelling him all the way to the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020, this sponsorship deal sees Tinsdills Solicitors become Ian’s primary local sponsor, and both parties are looking forward to building a close, long-standing connection. Having had his eyes set on the Tokyo Paralympic Games for a year longer and a pandemic more than he had bargained for, he was stretched physically as a four-year run in to this major event, extended to five years. It was Tinsdills’ history of supporting local sports clubs and encouraging local people to easily access sports, that drew Ian’s attention.

“There’s no denying that it’s been a challenging run up to the Games this summer and with the support of Tinsdills, I’m aiming to push the boundaries of what I can achieve. I want to promote that having a disability isn’t life limiting, in fact it’s just the opposite. It shows that whatever challenges life throws at you, you can go on to achieve great things, empowered by the positive spirit that belonging to a great community brings,” comments Ian. “It’s going to be a tough event with humidity to adjust to and changes to the rules now meaning only the winners of the heats go through to the next round, but it’s great to be able to face these challenges, inspire others and make local people proud.”

Ian is well-known locally and was recognised as Sports Personality of the Year in 2016, by both Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford Borough Councils. Having achieved a Silver and Bronze medals for Shooting in the London 2012 Paralympics, he went on to win Silver in both the Europeans and World Championships for Paracanoe in 2013, won Gold in 2014 and 2015 at the Europeans, Silver in the World Championships in 2014 and Bronze at Rio’s 2016 Paralympics with the Paracanoe Sprint Team.

Tinsdills’ Managing Director Tim Cogan commented, “Ian is an inspiration, and a fantastic role model for our community. That’s why we’ll be encouraging everyone to cheer him on as he prepares for Tokyo. We hope that knowing he has such strong local support will spur him on and help Ian to inspire other aspiring sportspeople in our community. We’re all about people at Tinsdills, it’s incredibly important to us to be able to commit time and resource to support our local community through events, donations and volunteering”.

Giving back to the local community is a key pillar of the company’s ethos. Tinsdills have been strong supporters of the Alice Charity, the Donna Louise and the Douglas Macmillan Hospice for serval years. Staff engage in regular fundraisers for national charities such as Children in Need and Headway, as well as arranging initiatives to raise contributions for local food banks.

Tinsdills see Ian’s sponsorship as a continuation of sporting support which includes being a main sponsor of Newcastle Town FC and its 32-team youth section, Trentham RUFC, Leek RUFC, Leek Cricket Club, Sandbach FC, Blythe Bridge Marvels and the Red Street Eagles. They also sponsor a Tee at Wolstanton Golf Club and get involved by taking part in many of their charity golf days, raising funds for a variety of city-wide initiatives.

Tim adds, “We are in awe of Ian’s achievements and the strength, grit and determination he has shown on his way to Tokyo and wish him good speed across the all-important 200m canoe sprint, from his Staffordshire homeland 5,900 miles away.”