I arrived early to help set up the hall only to find that there was a team already hard at work and the mats were almost laid out. In came the tables and banners, and cakes started to arrive for the tea/coffee and cake stall.
A day of firsts, it was our first in-person competition as Kazoku Karate. For some it was their first taste of competition and for others their first judging experience. Some old faces came along to help out. As the competition got underway, with the buzz in the hall and the numbers of youngsters, I quickly lost my voice and relied on a teacher compatriot to help out who was much more efficient at getting the students lined up.
It was great to see so many people, although nervous, having a go. There was good support from parents and families. The best attended was the parent and child team kata (Kazoku means family
after all), seeing the different generations competing together, clearly they had practised at home. From novices to experienced competitors everybody had a smile on their faces (afterwards at least!)
All the preparation paid off for the competitors showing their skills and the officials bringing the whole event together. I’m sure people left with a sense of what they need to work on for the next one.
A big thank you to Nick and Emma, referees, judges, table judges, Claire (photography), other helpers at the cake stall (the cakes were amazing apparently), parents, school teams and Sensei Peter and Isabel for coming up for the day. We raised £450 towards our Christmas Party.
Same time next year?
Medals
Individual kata:-
Bronze
M Smith, A Taylor, M Postu, A Cawthorne, A Lee, K Taylor, A Mustafa, S Saunders, L Fulton Coles, M Christie, J Mulligan, N Rusu, J Norton, A Popa, J Krawiecki, N Collins, R Barna, A Randell, B Starsmore, A Watts, A Philp, G Read, K Sexton, G Taylor, B Prins, M Taylor
Silver
H Karenyi, A Jensen, C McGrath, O Peasnall, K Khan, H Perry, V Watts, R Tebbutt, O Jenkins, J Minney, S Knight, L Taylor, D Barna, A Starsmore
Gold
V Oliveria, E Gasson, M Sim, L Freeman, H Szumielewicz, H Saunders, A Popa, L Cullan, F Hale, A Sore, J Sim, P Gregory-Brittain, P Prins, J Garlick
Individual kumite:-
Bronze
K Momoh, M Smith, K Taylor, A Khemalai, J Inbaraj Jashua, P Swannell, V Kubiak, D Slishkov, H Szumielewicz, M Thebe, L Fulton Coles, V Watts, T Foley, A Popa, K Khan, H Smith, C Hume, A Randell, R Tebbutt, A Watts, S Knight, J Sim, J Garlick, P Gregory-Brittain
Silver
A Hume, D Petras, I Timofte, A Mustafa, A Merchant, H Cook, J Mulligan, A Philp, L Coker, J Norton, E McCann-Innocent, G Onung, M Condon, J Minney, L Taylor, M Taylor
Gold
E Gasson, M Postu, M Macadan, A Mihalache, A Lee, O Peasnall, H Perry, M Christie, E Duckett, L Aleksa-Turney, O Jenkins, L Cullan, R Barna, L Aleksa-Turney, A Starsmore, D Barna
Team kata:-
Bronze
Slishkov + Rusu + Kubiak, Cawthorne + Postu + Beale, Popa + Stirbu + McCann-Innocent, Coker + Burn + Jenkins, Knight + Read + Khan, Taylor + Aleksa-Turney + Minney, Hartley + Cox + Inbaraj Jashua, Cook + Follis + Follis + Baker, Knight + Khan, Wilson + Wilson, Boksh + R-Boksh, Hume + Hume, Saunders + Edmunds, Perry + MacCullaugh, Jenkins + Jenkins + Hale
Silver
Ratnaweera + Saunders + Percival, Popa + Condon + Hume, Hale + Prins + Sexton, Karenyi + Lee + Momoh, Narayanam + Narayanam, Jenkins + Jenkins, Randell + Randell, Prins + Prins
Gold
Mihalache + Timofte + Macadan + Addis, Davis + Hale + Duckett, Starsmore + Starsmore + Lewis, Szumielewicz + Thebe + Mustafa, Sim + Sim, Hale + Hale, Hale + Jenkins + Jenkins, Starsmore + Starsmore
