NO TO CYBERBULLYING SAYS GOLD MEDALIST

USPA NEWS - "I´m proud to be representing Australia after being selected by 'Boxing Australia' to tour Russia, Poland, UK and Germany over the next few months as a lead up to the Rio qualifiers in 2016." Said Parker. Rio de Janeiro has been elected host city of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016.

Caitlin Parker was awarded The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program in October 2014 for the 2015 year. Her Mentor is Adam Gilchrist AM. Statistics confirm Adam Gilchrist as one of the greatest wicketkeeper/batsmen in cricket history. "What an honor " said the amazingly energetic Parker who started boxing at age 11 after achieving black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Parker found she enjoyed sparring so when the Coach asked if she wanted to try competition she jumped at the chance. "My first bout was at 13 in an exhibition against a 25 year old woman after my win I was determined to keep winning because having my hand raised in victory was, and still is the best feeling in the world." said Parker . She soon won her first national title at 14 and from there went to compete at the 2011 Junior World Championships in Turkey where she won Bronze, which was Australia´s first medal at that competition. Since then she has competed overseas at 7 international competitions winning 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, including 3 World championships. She just recently competed in the Youth Olympic Games after qualifying for the event ranked number 2 in the world. She won a Bronze medal, which made her even hungrier for the gold at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.

There is much discussion on the internet about sportsmen and women needing that' adrenaline fix' to keep fit and to not fall into a spiral depression. I asked Parker what she does at the age of just 19 to maintain her “˜Status Quo´ ? “Music!“ Replied Parker. “Music gets me motivated, I listen to Eminem “˜lose yourself to pump me up before every bout, I play it loud when I´m training and when my pain has hit its limit and I know I have to try harder. Music is a great training aid I find it motivating and inspiring.“ Smiled Parker. Parker works at the “˜Box and Bike´ in Queen Street Perth where she mentors young girls on not just “˜Boxing´ but also attitude, determination, exercise, self-discipline and techniques of self-defence. Her student´s ages are from 8 years to 15 all have a firm zero tolerance towards cyberbullying in fact bullying of any nature. Parker said that Social media can be cruel at times but she embraces it as a tool to celebrate success and other should too. What does Parker do when she does have time out from her training? Spend it with family and friends. Her sponsors include Elcord and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union C.F.M.E.U. Parker is in need of more 'Sponsors' so feel free to contact her. Vince Lombardi once said,"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand." Namaste