A Westbury teenager has been selected to represent Great Britain at the European Kendo Championships, and a fundraiser launched to help her reach the tournament.
Seventeen-year-old Chloe Leigh has been practising Kendo—a Japanese martial art using two-handed bamboo swords, derived from the fighting techniques of ancient samurai warriors—for five years.
Her selection builds on her recent achievements, having represented Great Britain at a friendly championship in Hungary in January and competing at the World Kendo Championships in Milan last year.
Now, after countless hours of training at Bath Kendo Club and additional sessions at Cardiff’s Denshinkan Kendo Club, Chloe has been selected to compete for Great Britain at the European Kendo Championships in Leiden, Netherlands, this May.
Chloe, a former Matravers School pupil, said, “I am really proud and honoured to be selected to fight for GB again. I’ll be competing in both the individual and team events this time. I’m fighting as a Junior this year—the senior age limit for the European Championships is 18, whereas for the Worlds it was 16. In the Junior category, the team event is mixed, so I feel I’ve done really well to be selected, as the team is usually made up of older boys.
“I will, as always, do my very best for my country, my team, and my dojo—Bath Kendo.”
To help fund her participation, Chloe’s grandmother, Susanne, has launched a fundraiser to support travel and competition costs.
“I’ve set up a GoFundMe page because I need to attend competitions in the lead-up to the European Championships,” Chloe explained. “I have two tournaments before then—one in Budapest from 11th to 13th April and another in Belgium from 3rd to 5th May.
“I’m really aware of the financial pressure this puts on my family and the sacrifices they make to ensure I can compete at this level. Any donation, no matter how small, will help towards my travel costs. I’m aiming to raise £2,000 to cover both competitions, and I would be incredibly grateful for any support from White Horse News readers.”
Chloe has been practising Kendo since she was 11 and trains several times a week in Bath. She is one of the top Kendo competitors in the country without any ties to Japan, having been introduced to the sport by her grandmother’s partner.
To support Chloe, visit www.gofundme.com/f/support-rising-kendo-star-chloe-leigh or search ‘Support Rising Kendo Star Chloe Leigh’ on GoFundMe.
