New Forest 'Karate Kids' have Olympic dream
THREE New Forest youngsters with Olympic karate aspirations are appealing for help to raise funds to enable them to compete at world ranking competitions in 2019.
Carla Rudkin-Guillen (11), Elliott Lowman (13), and James Arnold (14), are members of the New Forest-based Southern England Karate Federation and are coached by SEKF senior instructor Collin Rudkin who is a sixth dan black belt.
Carla is a member of the official England Youth Kata squad, and recently represented England in Helsinki, winning a gold medal for her country. Elliott and James are current English champions.
The three youngsters have proved themselves at both national and international level, and are now preparing to compete at four World Karate Federation (WKF), Youth K1 World ranking karate competitions in 2019.
The competitions in Cyprus, Croatia, Mexico and Italy offer Carla, Elliott and James the chance to gain a world ranking and the opportunity to represent Great Britain in future Olympics.
The SEKF would like to offer the talented students the opportunity to fulfil their potential and have been pro-active in fundraising for their cause. However, due to the vast sums required they are also seeking sponsorship from local and national businesses.
In return, the SEKF can offer exclusivity, with company logos on the SEKF website, tracksuits, YouTube channel, and during all advertising and media coverage where possible. Collin Rudkin will also offer his services to sponsoring companies, to teach complimentary karate/ self-defence/ fitness bootcamps courses to their staff.
So far, the youngsters have raised £1,946.00 towards their target of £10,000. Carla raised the first £40 by selling some of her personal belongings and to help boost their funds, James, Elliott and Carla assisted Collin and his son Danny Rudkin in running a Youth Champions karate course last Sunday.
The SEKF squad were featured on BBC South Today News, BBC Newsround, and BBC Online. The elite three’s international performances have also led to the SEKF squad being invited to take part in the hit TV show Britain’s got Talent. Five athletes are now practising routines in preparation for a final go-ahead to start filming.
Interested sponsors can contact SEKF at www.freestylecombatkarate.co.uk
