Homebuilder helps youngster fulfil World Karate Championships dream

Stewart Milne Homes is backing North Lanarkshire athlete, Rhys Hartley, as he prepares to head to the World Karate Championships in Chile.

Article Source: Stewart Milne Homes
Last Updated: 31 July 2019 12:25

The 15-year-old from Uddingston will represent Scotland in what can only be described as his biggest challenge yet as he flies 7,500 miles this October to compete against the very best.

The housebuilder has donated £500 towards the cost of Rhys’ trip to Santiago, Chile after he was selected for the junior team where he will be competing in the 16-18 age category following his birthday in August.

Rhys’ mum Donna said: “We are incredibly grateful to Stewart Milne Homes for this generous donation. Sending Rhys to international competitions is costly and there are no grants available, so everything is self-funded by my husband and me. We do whatever we can to ensure he is able to continue competing and nurture his talent and this donation from Stewart Milne Homes goes a long way towards helping to fulfil his dream.”

International competitions are becoming something of a regular occurrence for Rhys who competed at cadet level in the European Championships in Sochi, Russia in 2018 and again in Denmark in 2019. He also recently returned from a trip to Croatia which saw him compete in the WKF Karate 1 Youth League, a platform for the development of young talent, where he was placed in the top 15 out of 88 contenders in his age and weight category.

In 2018, the youngster collected four titles for his age group including the Scottish nationals, Scottish international, Irish international and British four nations tournaments and this year he has gone on to retain his Scottish and British titles as he moves up an age category.

Not only is Rhys remarkable for his skills in karate – receiving a black belt aged just 12 – he was one of the first babies in Scotland to undergo three lifesaving in-utero blood transfusions, as well as a further two blood transfusions when he was born, with his family describing him as a “fighter” from day one.

Kevin Moreland, Marketing Manager from Stewart Milne Homes said: “Rhys is an incredibly talented individual and his future is bright. As soon as we heard about his story and his aspirations we wanted to support him to ensure he is able to represent Scotland on this international stage. On behalf of everyone at Stewart Milne Homes we wish Rhys all the very best for the World Karate Championships and we shall be following his progress.”

For more information about Stewart Milne Homes developments please visit www.stewartmilnehomes.com