PLEASE HELP KATHERINE PURCHASE MUCH NEEDED PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR FENCING

Hi, my name is Katherine Little, I am 17 years of age and am involved in competitive Fencing.  Fencing is a very expensive sport, but one that is immensely rewarding.

I got started in fencing because myself and my younger sisters liked to fight off boys with sticks (and usually win) and we haven’t stopped since.  Recently I was a part of the gold medal winning team at the 2016 Oceania Under 20 Women’s Epee Teams Championships and was very close to winning a medal in the individual event.  I have many team and individual medals including 2nd place in National Under 17 Women’s Epee, 2016 and 3rd in National Under 17 Women’s Epee 2014.  I have achieved great results in open category too, coming 5th in North Island Championships 2016 and 6th in the National Championships 2015.

2015 was a difficult year as both my parents had become unemployed and I had to miss out on many events that I could have gone to and done well, for example U17 New Zealand Championships and U17 Australian Championships, but we just didn’t have the money.

Injury has been another challenge for me. My body is becoming very strong very quickly and this leaves me vulnerable to injury, particularly in such a physically challenging sport.  I have suffered from ligament damage in my foot, a thumb injury, multiple ankle strains, and sprained tendon in my knee.  Some of these have been devastating and have affected my performance in some big competitions and left me out for months.

WITH YOUR HELP – I KNOW I CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS

I have been fencing for over 5 years now and don’t own all of the protective equipment I need.  I am a likely candidate for the 2018 Commonwealth Junior (Under 20) Championships and hopefully, one day, the Olympics.  However, to get to that stage, I need appropriate protective equipment which is heavily monitored and controlled,  therefore expensive.

I don’t have the money to purchase the gear I need for these competitions.  I am leaving my current club and moving to Hamilton for university and therefore will not be able to continue to borrow my club’s gear.  Therefore, to continue to do the things I love, I need to raise funds.

My first big goal is to go to the Commonwealth Under 20 Championships in 2018 and achieve top 16.  To do that, I need to travel within New Zealand and achieve top 4 or top 8 in National Open competitions, as well as top 4 or top 2 in the National Under 20 competition.  I will need to attend the Australian National Under 20 Competition and achieve at least top 8.  I believe that with hard work and determination I can achieve this.