Athlete Information:
Name: Charlotte Parry
Age: 19
Sport: Karate
Course: BA (Hons) English and Drama
Year of study: 2
Athlete Profile
Charlotte is an international karateka. She has been practicing karate from the age of 5 and has been competing for many years. Charlotte has competed internationally since she was 15, in which time she has medalled 4 times in both European and World Championships. Charlotte has medalled nationally in kata and kumite, however she specialises in kata whilst competing with the Wales Squad.
Achievements since joining Cardiff Met
Since starting at Cardiff Met, Charlotte has competed in the British Shotokan Cup and was placed 3rd in the junior female kata. Charlotte competed for the first time as a junior competitor in the World Championships in Poland, ranking in the top 8 in kata. She also competed in the 2015 European championships in Crawley where she medalled twice with the team kata, gaining third place in the junior team event and second in the senior event. In February 2016 she competed in the Grand Slam competition, where British squads compete as a pre-international event. At this event, Charlotte achieved third place in the senior female kata. She gained fifth place in the 2016 National British Championships. Her most recent achievements include:
2016 KUGB Welsh Championships: Gold in team Kata, Bronze in Senior Ladies Kata and Bronze in team Kumite
2016 European Championships: Silver in Junior Team Kata
What difference has the Scholarship made?
"The scholarship has definitely helped me during my first year of university. I chose Cardiff Met as it was the perfect place to both study and to train at an international level. During my time of study, the facilities which are provided by the university have helped me balance both training and my course. The catering allowance has allowed me to eat at university before I go to train. The scholarship has also helped fund the equipment and travel needed to train with the Welsh squad. I have been training one-to-one with my sensei, which is something I haven't done before as I haven't been able to afford it, but the scholarship really helped with gym costs. I train with the Welsh squad for both kata and kumite now, whereas when I started university I only trained with the kata team."
