Charlotte ’s Homecoming from The Commonwealth Games 2006

Much of the media in Sussex have given some excellent coverage on Charlotte’s successes in the Commonwealth Games in Australia and her homecoming back to Northall farm. A hero’s welcome…she has become an icon to the clay shooting sport and an idol to many of her followers.

Charlotte has proved at 19 years that she can take on the best in the Commonwealth and beat them all. She has now done it twice and in the process also held the Commonwealth Games record not once but twice. An added bonus in these Games was when she won gold in the Double Trap Pairs competition with Rachael Parish.

As the Ladies Double Trap will no longer be an Olympic event, Charlotte will now put her sights on the Olympic Trap, and is already a formidable performer in this event….. she has already shown she is one of the best in the world at the Double Trap and no doubt will show her prowess at the Olympic Trap event.

Looking back on her Commonwealth performances the success in the Double Trap in 2002 set the clay shooting alight when she was the youngest ever Britain to win gold. The media coverage in Britain at that time was rather dismal in particular with UK television, however in 2006 the Australians showed best how to cover clay shooting on television with some good television footage of the sport. It was good to see that this time the BBC actually made more of an effort, to provide some better coverage at home, especially, when you consider that much of the medals won for England were in the field of ‘shooting’.

Charlotte ’s clay shooting home at Northall Clay Pigeon Club…..…together with members, friends, family and the people of Fletching and surrounding areas gave her a welcome home not to be forgotten. It was also pleasing to see many local media reporters and the BBC South East television crew waiting for her arrival. Union Jacks and the English flags of St. George were flying as was bunting around the club house. When she finally arrived at the ground after her long haul from Australia the cameras started clicking and the television cameras rolled….she was greeted with a huge round of applause with youngsters waving flags and chanting….gold Charlotte……gold Charlotte…….gold Charlotte. In true Charlotte style she puts on the smiles for the cameras………bouquet of flowers were in abundance……hugs and congratulations and then some overwhelming tears, captured by some photographers on one occasion as she was hugged by her former manager / coach Terry Allen who could see the potential that Charlotte had in the sport. The champagne flowed and from then on everyone wanted to be with and talk to Charlotte…………it was her homecoming day…..a shooting star from Sussex.