Testimonials from media professionals, athletes and agents.

 

If you would like to offer a testimonial on Nicola’s work, please visit the contact page.

 

Gathered in 2011 and 2012. In alphabetical order:

Liz Birchall, Head of Marketing and Communications – British Athletics –

“I have known Nicola Bamford since she was very young and first had work experience at Athletics Weekly magazine. I have worked with her on several occasions in recent years most notably on our athletics events where she has worked as part of the media operations team. At all times she applies herself with enthusiasm, and her pleasant nature and can-do attitude is a valuable attribute in what can often be a stressful environment.”

Holly Bleasdale, British pole-vault record holder and 2012 Olympics sixth-place –

“Nicola has interviewed me a couple of times and I felt really comfortable when chatting to her, although we were in an interview situation. I usually get really nervous for interviews but her method of interview made it really easy to tell her what I felt. Nicola has also done an article about me on Skysports website – I really liked what she wrote about me. I would be glad to be interviewed by her in future international events, as I feel the more comfortable you are with the interviewer the better responses and interview you get.”

Niall Brooks, 2010 Commonwealth Games 800m semi-finalist –

“Nicola made me feel very comfortable and relaxed throughout the duration of the interview. This put me in a comfort zone and just made it appear like a conversation I was having with a friend, which was a welcomed change from the usual formal interviews athletes receive. She was professional in the delivering of all questions asked and was on hand to further explain in areas I wasn’t totally sure on. I would be delighted and thankful to be presented with the opportunity of conducting media work with Nicola in the future.”

Matthew Brown, Freelance Athletics Writer for the IAAF and London Marathon –

“Nicola is a very enthusiastic interviewer and writer about athletics, always keen to learn and take on any new opportunity. Her knowledge and love of the sport is without question.”

Richard Buck, 2011 European indoor 400m bronze-medallist –

“Nicola Bamford was an adept interviewer, she asked in-depth questions and had excellent knowledge and was able to relate well to her subject (in this case myself). Her knowledge about the interviewing topic made it easy to open up and talk frankly, not worrying about over complicating the subject with jargon or the clique which evolves within the confines of elite sports. Miss Bamford was professional and thorough.”

Lawrence Clarke, 2012 Olympics 110m hurdles fourth place –

“Nicola has a very enthusiastic and professional attitude towards sports journalism. Her style of interview is relaxed and personal, allowing athletes, including myself, to feel comfortable in discussion. I would say that she offers athletes a trusting and personal face to the athletics media, encouraging a more open and honest response.”

Helen Clitheroe, 2011 European 3,000m indoor champion –

“I have been interviewed by Nicola on quite a few occasions and find she is very knowledgeable and has a clear passion for athletics, she is also very respectful to the needs and demands put on an athlete at events which makes a difference. I have been following Nicola’s pieces for the SkySports website and the pieces she wrote about me were excellent.”

Alyson Dixon, GB marathoner –

“Working with Nicola was a real pleasure. She is very friendly and polite and made me feel very comfortable during the interview. The articles Nicola produces are second to none, she understands her subject very, very well and conveys this in her work. Nicola’s bubbly personality and passion for her work makes her the ideal person to report at future events and I would love to see her achieve this.”

Lisa Dobriskey, 2009 World 1500m silver-medallist –

“I have been interviewed by Nicola several times and have always enjoyed working with her, she has a flair for making people feel relaxed and it makes being interviewed so easy. I have always found the questions Nicola asks to be very thought-provoking and not just the standard run of the mill questions. I have always felt Nicola genuinely relates to what I say (possibly because she is an athlete herself). Her interviews are extremely well organized, she has always acted professionally when arranging and conducting an interview and she always sounds so interested. Nicola is one of the journalists I feel most comfortable working with and I have always been more than pleased with the finished article. I have read several of Nicola’s articles on athletics and her enthusiasm and sheer passion for the sport always shines through. I would be delighted if Nicola were to work with me at international events. Her positive outlook and energy is a breath of fresh air.”

Dai Greene, 2011 World 400m hurdles champion –

“Nicola approached me for an interview in a professional manner. She didn’t pressurise me and was very accommodating. The piece she did with me was very pleasing to read. When people behave in this way it helps to build up trust with an athlete and I would be more than happy to let Nicola interview me again in the future.”

Luke Gunn, GB international steeplechaser –

“During a recent interview conducted by Nicola, I was highly impressed with her professionalism and personability. She was very thorough with her research, asking many leading questions but taking the time to fully listen to my responses, giving me every confidence that I would be accurately quoted and that the article would be shown in the positive light I wished.The finished product gave an insightful and accurate portrayal of my story, and the whole experienece left me with nothing but a positive impression of Nicola and her ability as a sports journalist.”

David Hart, Communications Director – Nova International –

“Nicola has attended numerous events that Nova have organised in recent years and has interviewed a host of our athletes. She is both able to, and understands the time constraints we operate to, and therefore makes it easy for our press team to work with at all times.”

Tim Heming – The Sun

“The first thing that hits you about Nicola is her enthusiasm, her drive to always improve, and her long-held love of athletics. It’s a potent, infectious mix and she deserves to succeed.”

Jason Henderson, Editor – Athletics Weekly magazine –

“I have known Nicola since she did voluntary work in the Athletics Weekly offices as a teenager. She has always been ridiculously diligent, hard-working, enthusiastic and ambitious, but in recent years she has added considerable experience to her repertoire thanks to, among other things, working at the London Olympics. Her biggest quality, though, is persistence. In a world where opportunities to work as an athletics writer have become few and far between, Nicola has never given up chasing her dream to be an athletics writer and she continues to find work either during or outside of major events and has become a familiar and friendly face to everyone at track and field, cross country and road race meetings.”

Andrew Lemoncello, GB marathon runner –

“Nicola was very knowledgeable and friendly with her interviews. She can tell very easily if you are pleased with your performance or not and tailors her interview style to accommodate for that. Being a runner herself helps with her knowledge of the distances and types of races that she interviews at. She is always smiling and is very easy to talk to.”

Emily Lewis, Former Programme Manager – DoubleGold Enterprises Ltd –

“Nicola wrote a number of articles for the ‘On Camp with Kelly’ website and always showed great enthusiasm and knowledge in her work.”

David Lowes, Coaching Editor – Athletics Weekly magazine –

“In the instances that I have worked alongside Nicola Bamford at international events, I have found her manner to be extremely professional with considered and relevant questions in interviews with athletes and coaches. Her work ethic has always been of the highest standard with an excellent grammatical usage. I would have no hesitation in recommending her skills to any interested party.”

Tomas Magnusson, Athletics Statistician –

“In the position as a flash-quote reporter and advisory statistician during the Olympic Games in London 2012, I got to know Nicola Bamford in the same team. Nicola is a very caring and careful working person. In times of stressful situations, she could recognize and set the right priorities. In terms of athletics, she possesses a wide and fundamental knowledge which she can use in order to make interviews with great quality. Furthermore, she brings her work to paper in an easy-reading way. Her friendly and open minded way of speaking to athletes of all levels has made her a well-known name in the athletics circuit.”

James McKeown, Marketing and Brand Executive – British Athletics –

“Nicola has been a great asset to our media team at UKA in her work for us as a freelancer across a busy 2012 schedule. She is an immensely capable and knowledgeable athletics writer who we can always count on to be professional and produce work of a high standard, to deadline. A polite and cheerful team member, Nicola’s enthusiasm for her craft is infectious. Highly recommended.”

Jenny Meadows, 2009 World 800m bronze-medalist –

“I have always found Nicola’s enthusiasm and passion for the sport to be very contagious and this contributes significantly in making me feel extremely relaxed when being interviewed by her. I feel endeared to share my thoughts and feelings about my performances with her as I know that she creatively manages to produce an informative yet personal balanced piece of journalism.”

Phil Minshull, Associate Web Editor – IAAF –

“My acquaintance with Nicola Bamford stretches back approximately two years, primarily with respect to my role as a consultant to European Athletics. In that time, I’ve seen a lot of the work that she has produced for her own clients, including most of the athletics stories she has written for the Sky Sports web site, and found it to be of an impressive quality. European Athletics have also used some of the stories she has written and she also worked for European Athletics on a freelance basis at the 2010 European Athletics Champions in Barcelona. She is a creative, accurate and enthusiastic sports journalist. Her specific skills and abilities will be outlined in detail on her Curriculum Vitae and do not need repeating here but I would also like to comment on the fact that on the occasions I have worked directly with Nicola it has always been a pleasant experience. I have no hesitation in providing a letter of recommendation for Nicola, both for her personal and professional attributes. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or require further information.”

Jon Mulkeen, Associate Web Editor – IAAF –

“I first worked alongside Nicola at Athletics Weekly and our paths have crossed numerous times since then, often bumping into each other at competitions. She is never without a smile on her face, and I’ve witnessed how her infectious cheerful personality brings out the best in athletes when speaking to them in the mixed zone. Nicola is a hugely keen fan of athletics with a fantastic knowledge of the sport and superb writing ability. Her passion is second-to-none.”

James Mulligan, Communications Manager – European Athletics –

“Nicola is very enthusiastic and passionate about athletics, has a good network of contacts and works hard during events to get good interviews and stories.”

Freya Murray, GB marathon runner

“In my opinion, Nicola has always interviewed me with politeness, showing interest and respect. I feel that whenever she has written about me I have been represented fairly and any quotations are accurate. I have always been happy and comfortable speaking to Nicola at events, and I’m sure I will continue to be in the future.”

Andrew Osagie, 2014 World indoor 800m bronze-medallist –

“For me personally, Nicola has been great! I am a developing athlete and am trying to create and increase a fan base and specifically the report and interview Nicola covered on me this indoor season has really helped me do that. I have used it as a reference when applying for sponsorship and I actually use it now within my sporting CV. I felt really comfortable discussing things with Nicola and she was very informative and descriptive when it came to the interview questions themselves and the dates and locations of where the pieces would go public. I think we have a couple of pieces lined up for the future and I would have no problems whatsoever in helping her if asked, I look forward to working with her in the future.”

Charlotte Purdue, 2010 Commonwealth Games 10,000m fourth place –

“I feel that Nicola has interviewed in a way that is friendly but maintained a professional manner. Her interviews have been easy to respond to, due to the fact it feels like I am speaking to a friend rather than a reporter. She has shown great knowledge surrounding my performances and general life and well being. I feel that her interviewing technique is formal but in a way that makes it easy to respond easily. Her written records have been accurate and correspond correctly to my spoken words and I have always been happy with the reports written.”

Joe Rafferty, Commercial Director of InMotion Sport –

“Nicola has always been a pleasure to deal with. When she has dealt with some of our athletes, she has always been reliable and flexible. When sports people are under pressure with training, treatment and appearances, these two qualities can really put them at ease. Nicola has a great ability to talk to athletes on their level and this shows in her writing. The athletes have all been impressed with how she has made them come across.”

Ricky Simms, Director at Pace Sports Management –

“Nicola has interviewed our athletes on several occasions and we have always found her very knowledgeable, pleasant and she reports accurately on the topics discussed.”

Stuart Stokes, 2010 Commonwealth Games 3,000m steeplechase fifth place –

“I have been interviewed by Nicola on many occasions and she has written articles for national magazines about my athletics. Nicola has always been incredibly professional, thorough and hard working. Her work always reflects how passionate she is both for the sport she is involved with and the work she is producing. Her interviews and articles are very balanced, honest and informative and her attention to detail along with her depth of knowledge have allowed me open up, place great trust in her and form a great working relationship. I have witnessed Nicola working at many International events and it has always been evident how dedicated and enthusiastic she is. She has an ability to engage with athletes from all over the world and her approach is consistent, friendly and focused. I have always found that the qualities she has brings out the best in others.”

Ben Thompson, Media and Communications Manager at MaceSport –

“I have worked with Nicola on a number of projects and can’t speak highly enough about her. She has a fantastic understanding of the athletics world and what is required and expected from every side – whether from a media or athlete perspective. Our athletes have been relaxed and well looked after by an informed, hard working and knowledgeable individual.”

Chris Thompson, 2010 European 10,000m silver-medallist –

“I felt very comfortable being interviewed by Nicola, in particular by the fact I felt like she was extremely interested in what I had to say rather than just a journalist trying to get a story. This always helps to feel comfortable confident in what you’re saying and this helps me speak my mind clearly and comfortably. Nicola makes me feel like she has a real passion and interest in the questions she asks together with a real grasp on what myself as an athlete does and has to go through. She is extremely polite and sensitive of the time she has with people she interviews. Her reports, I feel reflect her passion and interest shown in her interviews, which I see as a very good reflection of our interviews and well written.”

Andy Turner, 2011 World 110m Hurdles bronze-medallist –

“I’ve been interviewed by Nicola on numerous occasions, each time she has been very professional and the resulting stories have not only been accurate but fun to read. I look forward to her interviewing me at any time in the future at grand prix’s, major championships or just for a random story.”

Rhys Williams, 2012 European 400m Hurdles champion –

“Having been interviewed many times by Nicola, I have found her to be very conscientious and professional at what she does. Myself and many others would be more than happy to work with her again.”

Jurrie Van der Velden, Athletes Manager at Global Sports Communication –

“My athletes and I always feel comfortable around Nicola as we know she understands athletes’ needs and knows how to make them feel comfortable. Even with the Africans, which most journalists struggle to communicate, Nicola finds her way to approach them and make them feel comfortable and get the right details out of them.”

Liz Yelling, two-time Olympic marathon runner –

“I have had the pleasure of being interviewed by Nicola on many occasions during my international running career – she is very professional in her approach and easy to talk to. She is very sensitive to the needs and requirements of athletes competing at such a high level. She has a great understanding of how international events work and this is reflected her approach to interviewing. She is always very interested and has a great background knowledge of the sport and I am sure she would carry this attitude over to any other media job that she worked for.”