Kickboxing star (10) from Alness seeks help to represent Scotland at Italian fight meet
AFTER getting her first taste of competitive fight action on her eighth birthday, there can be no doubting that Elise Stephen has come a long way, demonstrating a steely determination to excel at what she does.
Still only 10, the Easter Ross lass puts in at least 17 hours a week training in kickboxing and taekwon-do, and has amassed a remarkable 39 gold medals to date in the process.
But if her trophy cabinet is already getting a bit crowded, it certainly hasn’t stemmed her appetite for success - particularly as she has been asked to represent her country at a prestigious fixture in Italy later this month.
In addition to the hours of hard training needed to progress in such challenging disciplines, Elise has also showed steely determination in helping to fund her ambitions and remains keen to attract sponsorships to help maintain the regime required to keep competing at the highest level.
Currently raising funds to help get to the Unified World Championships in Italy,she describes herself as a local girl from the Highlands competing in kickboxing and taekwon-do and also training in Muay Thai and MMA.
She said: “I live in Alness and travel to Inverness six days a week for training. I train 17-plus hours a week at Alness Taekwon-do Academy, HMAC Inverness and Raijin MA Inverness. I also travel to Glasgow regularly to attend Scotland squad training sessions and to compete.
“I am 10 and competed at my first competition on my 8th birthday. Since then I have gone on to achieve a total of 39 gold medals, 10 silver and 11 bronze to date. In June I competed at the WKA World Championships, winning three gold medals. I was selected to represent Scotland after a qualifying tournament, previously winning three golds at the Scottish championships and three golds at the European championships.
“Recently I’ve been invited to represent Scotland at the Unified World Championships which is held in Italy from October 23 to 28. I would love the opportunity to represent my country in Italy.
“Other countries often support their athletes, paying for their expenses to attend such events. Sadly Scotland doesn’t provide such support, therefore athletes look to businesses to secure sponsorship to contribute towards costs. Any sponsorship opportunities or donations would be gratefully appreciated to help me continue on my martial arts journey.”
Her father Dale, who works in Invergordon, described himself as “very proud of her hard work, dedication and everything she's achieved”.
That is a sentiment echoed by her proud headteacher.
Victoria McCarthy of Bridgend Primary School said: “Elise is a very hard-working girl and we were not surprised to hear how well she had done at the World Championships.
“She was able to share her training regime with the class and we could see how much she strives to achieve her best. Bridgend Primary are proud to share that Elise is one of our pupils and we look forward to many more celebrations with her in the future.”
Anyone who would like to offer support can contact Elise’s family at elisestephen.fighter@gmail.com