Championing Sophie at the Kickboxing World Championship!

Championing Sophie at the Kickboxing World Championship!

The Kickboxing World Championship 2023 was held in Calgary, Canada between October 16 – 23. Amongst the incredible athletes competing in this event was Sophie, granddaughter of Calon Cymru Supervising Social Worker Sandra Wheatley. Sophie has dedicated much of her life to kickboxing and we were privileged to be one of the official sponsors of the Welsh team and support them in getting to Canada to prove their skills on the world stage.

Sophie started kickboxing at 4 years old and has never stopped since, her wonderful coach, Mr Dan Parker describes,

“an incredible transition in Sophie's mindset and skill set over the last 12 months especially as she has fought to gain her space in the team and get the opportunity to compete for her country in Canada.”

Sophie expresses her passion and excitement for kickboxing, this is evidenced by her dedication to training and being part of the WCKA family. She prepared for the World Championships by training 4 nights a week, and a Sunday in the lead up to the World Championships including traveling to Cardiff for squad training.

When asked how he feels about Sophie’s achievements and commitment to her training Sophie’s dad, Gareth was proud to tell us,

“As Sophie's Dad, I am exceptionally proud of her, not just for this massive achievement of being selected to represent Wales at the world championships, but for the incredible young lady she is. She has a very positive and driven approach to learning the art and discipline needed to be successful. This will not only benefit her in kickboxing but will no doubt benefit her life in general. We would like to thank Calon Cymru for their kind sponsorship and to all the sponsors”.

Sophie achieved a bronze medal and became a World Champion in her category showing just how important all of her hard work and dedication to her sport has been.

As a sponsor, we would like to congratulate this young team on their dedication to their sport which has resulted in this fantastic opportunity and achievement for the young people involved. We hope the best for these young people in their sports careers and are sure we will see them competing again in the future.