The day after Boxing Day the Hearing Aid Repair Shop (HARS) helped a local young athlete by repairing her hearing aid so she could study for an important German GCSE mock exam at the start of the spring term.
A member of Newbury Athletic Club, Charlotte Payne has earned numerous accolades for her sporting achievements and was runner up at the Young Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in November 2016.
Charlotte’s mum, Denise, said, “We turned up in the snow with my daughter's hearing aid which had died over Christmas. We were met with a smile by the wonderful team at HARS who helped us out on the spot. We were overwhelmed by their kindness and won’t go anywhere else from now on.”
Charlotte competes in the throwing events – discus and hammer. In 2016, Charlotte was UK National Champion and UK No. 1 in Under 15 Discus and UK No. 3 in Under 15 Hammer.
Last year Charlotte moved into Under 17 category and became UK No. 1 in Under 17 Hammer 4kg, UK No. 3 in Under 17 Discus, South England Under 17 Hammer Champion and championship record holder. She was also a silver medallist in hammer at the School Games and a bronze medallist in Under 17 Discus at the English Schools Championships.
As well as all that, Charlotte has been the best UK deaf female thrower in hammer, discus and shot put, for all age groups, for the past 2 years.
Denise said, “Charlotte is now the youngest in her age group and has yet another year at this level to improve on her amazing achievements.”
This year Charlotte has set her sights on being No. 1 in the UK in hammer and discus, representing the UK in the Under 18 European Championships in Hungary in August and competing in the School Games and Schools Track & Field International.
Denise said, “Hopefully Charlotte will have a busy summer, competing in various national and international events, if she can successfully win all the necessary qualifying events beforehand. She’s capable, so it's definitely on the cards. Fingers crossed! You rarely find a thrower who does both hammer and discus to a high standard, so Charlotte will probably have to decide between them. It’s going to be a tough choice to pick which one.”
The HARS team wish Charlotte all the best with her studies and athletic aspirations over the coming years. We hope to be watching her compete at major championships in the future.
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