Sherry Dunn of Blackpool earns England selection for kickboxing world championships

Sherry Dunn from the Zen Martial Arts Academy has been invited to represent England in the 50kg category and hopes online donations will help to make this sporting journey of a lifetime to Carrara in Tuscany possible.

The 23-year-old from central Blackpool takes up the story: “I was walking past the Academy around eight years ago and decided to give it a go, and it's one of the best things I've done in my life.

“I have travelled all over the country to compete and now have the chance to travel further to represent England against the best in the world.

"It’s an amazing opportunity which doesn’t come around very often.

“I have won numerous competitions and the area championship, and was contacted by the England team to say I'd qualified for the Unified World Championships at the end of October.”

However, Sherry has to pay for flights, accommodation, competition fees and an international licence – a total cost of £950.

Sherry has launched a page on gofundme.com, while the Zen club on Back Reads Road is also doing its bit by staging a sponsored walk from Gynn Square to Fairhaven and back next month.

Sherry's fundraising page is at https://gofund.me/bd079f87

Or contact [email protected] for more information on the academy and its efforts to help Sherry's dream come true.