JKA W/F European Championships – April 2011

A very well done to Harry Theron who took BRONZE for Cadet Team Kumite. I’m sure Ricardo would have bagged another trophy had he not been injured – he recovered in time to support his England team members for the finals and his ribs are now on the mend!

Junior Squad member Amy Walsh did a fantastic job by assisting and so did club member Phoebe Hennessy who was our very own England flag mascot!

The K2 Sports Centre in Crawley was the venue for the 2011 European Championships was hosted by JKA-England. Red London buses arrived to shuttle competitors and teams from the Arora Hotel to the K2 sports centre.

Sensei Bura (8th Dan) opened the day paying tribute to the Japanese Tsunami victims by everyone in the hall respectfully observing silence for a minute. The eliminations for Kata were first, with individual eliminations through to semi final rounds followed by the team kata events.

After a break, the kumite began, showing some thrilling matches and fabulous competitors which made for great spectator viewing. This was displayed onto two large screens for everyone to see. Once the semi final team kumite match had finished, the six floor area were changed into two raised platform stages for the evening performances. It began, with drummers warming up the crowd as they entered the hall and was followed by sword fighting display.

Sensei Ohta presented Dreams Come True with a cheque for £9,000 – an amazing achievement for all JKA-England clubs including Colchester JKA that helped raised funds for such a worthwhile cause.

The Kata finals saw a variety of performances from competitors and teams alike. Individual finalists were presented with their trophy and medals from Sensei Bura. The evening was the Kumite finals with individuals followed by team events. The standard of competitor was excellent. The finalists were then presented with their trophies and medals by Sensei Ochi (8th Dan) to the rapturous applause of the crowd.