Merrin Eagles rewarded for successful 2019 with Ray Harvey grant

A junior blackbelt within the Goulburn Martial Arts Academy, Eagles is one of 13 young athletes to have been awarded the grant, which divides a share of $2,950 between them.

"I was very happy and relieved [with the grant]," Merrin said.

In the last 12 months, Merrin was part of the GMAA teams which competed at the the World Championships in Melbourne in March, where she claimed one medal, and the National Championships in Canberra in October, where she came away with two. To cap off an already successful season, she also graded to blackbelt.

"Merrin would be one of the best sparrers in her age, definitely the best female sparrer that I have in that age group, but certainly she mixes it up with the boys," head instructor at GMAA, Craig Harmer, said of Merrin's talent.

"At the Nationals, she sparred a 15-year-old, and to be honest, it wasn't even close. Merrin was very dominant. That girl had a big height advantage, and Merrin just ate her up."

The young blackbelt's dominance was such that her opponent retired from the competition after their bout.

It is displays like this which leave Harmer confident about Merrin's chances in 2020.

To get the year underway, the GMAA will host the State Titles in February. In August, the team will take part in the Nationals, and Harmer also has his eye on an invitational competition in Shanhai, China, in the same month.

"We've got a full book already, getting ready to go for next year," Harmer said.

"That's why we're hosting [the State Titles] in February, so we can kick the season off early and get in the mode of competition."

With so many high-profile tournaments scheduled, it would be understandable to expect a 13-year-old to be anxious. But Harmer said Merrin's biggest strength is her ability to translate her training into matches.

"What she does here at the gym, she took that into the competition, which isn't always the case," he said.

"Some people, when training at the gym, will be really good, and sometimes the nerves and the adrenaline dump can be too big and they can become a little bit restrained.

"But Merrin just went out there as if it was a normal training day. I think having been to the World Championships was a good experience for her, and she was able to take that to the nationals."

Though she is young, Merrin has eight years of martial arts training behind her. She will no doubt put it to good use when she takes to the ring in 2020.

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