Lookers Vauxhall Birmingham is helping a high-kicking local schoolgirl follow her dreams and compete in karate championships across the world.
Chloe Barnes, 12 and from Sutton Coldfield, started practising karate when she was 6 and obtained her first black belt in December 2015 at the age of just ten, becoming the youngest ever student to achieve the rank within the Southern Shotokan Karate Association.
Since then, she’s taken on all-comers in a number of high profile competitions, including competing in the Karate World Championships in Dublin in June 2016 where she came away with a gold medal.
She has continued to compete in competitions across the globe and has won almost 30 medals, most recently securing three gold medals at the Liverpool Open Karate Tournament in January this year.
Chloe, a pupil at Fairfax School in Sutton Coldfield, loves to compete and attends karate training 4 to 5 times a week, however, due to unforeseen circumstances, it has become difficult for Chloe’s family to fund her progress in the martial art she loves.
As part of its support of young sporting talent, Lookers has now stepped in to help Chloe continue her competitive development after noticing the crowdfunding page set up by her father Richard.
Chloe will now be able to compete in the World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) World Karate Championships in Dundee in June and even the WUKF European Karate Championships in Malta this October.
Alan Collins, Operations Manager at Lookers Vauxhall Birmingham, said: “We are delighted to be able to sponsor Chloe at such an important point in her martial arts career. At such a young age Chloe has already achieved so much and we’re thrilled to be part of her journey. We wish her the very best of luck in her upcoming competitions and we’ll be supporting her every step of the way.”
Chloe said: “I can’t thank Lookers enough for the support they have given me. Karate is a massive part of my life and it is my ambition to compete at the very highest level. I now can’t wait to get to Dundee and Malta to prove how much I have learned over the last few years. It’s a dream come true.”