1st February 2023
Charlotte Hicks, from Pensilva, is in her final year of Outdoor Education at Duchy College; she is England ranked #1 and currently ranking 2nd Junior and 4th Senior in British Shooting.
In 2022 she secured the title at the Senior England National Championships in 10-meter air pistol shooting.
With fierce competition, Charlotte is hopeful to push further: “I’ve done four international competitions so far, so it’s about getting more senior experience for a chance to be selected for the next Commonwealth Games.”
Representing Great Britain on an international level comes at a price – approximately £2,000 per international trip, which is self-funded.
For Charlotte, the nearest shooting range for training is in London, she hopes to travel more, practice more and eventually be selected for internationals and Olympics: “I am hoping as many companies as possible would like to sponsor me so I can keep progressing.”
Practicing in the comfort of her family home means that the kitchen becomes a common shooting range: “I have a pellet catcher in the cupboard, I open all the doors that go through to the kitchen, put the table at the back and then I shoot onto the target, which is very challenging because I practice under a different light to what you would in a real competition.” Charlotte explained.
Charlotte started tetrathlon with the Pony Club when she was 8, worked up to a national level and won the nationals aged 14, subsequently joining pentathlon adding fencing to the mix, and after taking 14th place for under 17s in the European competition, Charlotte specialised in 10-meter pistol shooting.
“To get here wasn’t easy, I train at home without a coach, it’s hard to work things out on your own, sometimes it takes me 3 weeks to figure out a problem, whereas someone with a coach can fix that problem through direct feedback, but you get an understanding of why it works and how it works, it’s a problem-solving skill I have developed.” Said Charlotte, who has already taken home a silver medal in Finland and secured an international personal best of 560 out of 600 points at the Grand Prix in Croatia last weekend.
“I am just breaking into senior competitions, to be recognised to be selected for internationals. You must keep competing to gain experience, perform better and get more points.” Charlotte added.
Nicola Dorman, Study Programme Manager Outdoors at Duchy College, hopes Charlotte gets the “recognition she deserves” and is proud of her wonderful achievements:
“Charlotte is an amazing all-round athlete, we challenge her to access all types of activities like mountaineering, canoeing, rock climbing, she’s versatile and adapts to all sports and builds her position as an athlete, which will help in the future.”
“When Charlotte is not training at home, she works on her instructor qualifications, to be flexible in competing and teach other people the skills necessary.”
“This achievement is a testament to the hard work and determination of Charlotte and serves as an inspiration to all of our students, we want her to go for the gold!” Nicola continued.
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