A TEENAGER who was brought up in Canada to parents from Barnsley is due to represent Great Britain at the World Youth Biathlon Championships.
Charlotte Mincher, 17, has been selected as part of the Great Britain youth team, in the sport which combines cross country skiing with rifle shooting.
The championships are due to take place in Sweden later this month.
Charlotte’s parents Lynsey and Phil Mincher, who met at Darton High School, are originally from Monk Bretton and Staincross respectively.
They moved to Canada in 2005 and she was born two years later.
She said: “I have a strong connection to Barnsley.
“I was christened at Saint Edward’s Church on Racecommon Road where my parents got married.
“My whole family was born and raised in Barnsley apart from me and my younger sister, but we enjoy visiting my family there whenever I can as I feel it’s my second home.
“Both my sets of grandparents are from there and it’s amazing to be able to make them proud. My papa John will be there with me in Sweden, and my nana Shirley, papa Steve and aunty cheese (Louise) will be glued to the TV cheering for me.”
Charlotte had been a downhill skier but stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic then started biathlon in 2021 and now trains six times a week.
The family is based in Calgary, Alberta and Charlotte trains in Canmore.
She joined the British Biathlon ‘Talent ID Team’ in January 2023 and attended training camps in Morecambe and then Wales later that year, also visiting family in Barnsley and roller-skiing along the Trans Pennine Trail.
She has since competed and trained in Austria, Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Sweden as well at the World Championships last year in Estonia.
“I am filled with excitement and joy to be representing my country. My aims for the event are to shoot clean and to improve my results from last year.
“I feel I adapted very quickly to the sport even though the skinny skies are a lot different. I feel I have a natural talent for shooting and I enjoy pushing myself to the maximum limit and having a lot of fun when I race or train.
“The snow and being out on a ski almost calm me down.
“I don’t have stress when I ski.
“I would like to see how far I could possibly push myself in this sport and be able to create an inspiration for others who don’t know where to start or be able to find peace in their sport.
“Who knows? Maybe I could go to the 2030 Winter Olympics.”
Charlotte’s mum Lynsey added: “She went to the worlds last year to Estonia but, at the time, my mum Jean Cooper – who was a nurse for 49 years at Barnsley Hospital – had just been suddenly diagnosed with liver cancer and was dying in the UK.
“So straight after worlds, Charlotte flew to the UK to be with her nanna one last time for a week and then my mum passed in April 2024. So this year is bittersweet as my mum would have moved mountains to attend and my dad is coming on his own.”
Charlotte’s Instagram account is charlotte_mincher.
FURTHER SPORTING LINKS WITH CANADA
The town of Barnsley and the country of Canada have forged several sporting links in recent years.
While biathlon starlet Charlotte Mincher was born in Canada and raised in Calgary to parents from Barnsley, so represents Great Britain, squash player Hollie Naughton has a similar story but competes under the maple leaf flag.
Hollie was born in Barnsley and grew up in Cudworth, attending Churchfield School, until the family moved to Toronto when she was ten due to her father’s job. A squash career which began at Shaw Lane has taken her to professional level and a silver medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, ice dance star Billy Wilson-French has moved to Canada and competed in their national championships last year.
The 21-year-old from Royston was a multiple British champion and represented GB internationally. But, after training under Christopher Dean in Sheffield, he now competes in Canada with new partner Sophia Glover.
