MATCH REPORTS Jul - Dec 2008
5th July - Halesowen Age & Grade Banded, Midlands
David came along for his first comp in a while and although fought well did not make the medals this time.
Akhil & Harkirat blasted through their groups though to take 2 well deserved gold medals. Akhil's performance was particularly pleasing as he beat, in the final, a boy whom he lost to in the pools - a boy 3 years his senior and a member of the British Squad. So well done to Akhil.
6th July - Hampshire Junior & Senior Open, Portsmouth
Ali fought this one, but with some tough opposition didn't make the rostrum. He learned in every fight and will be even better prepared for his next outing.
Harkirat fought in two categories today, to help make up numbers and earned herself a gold and a bronze.
In the Senior section Lyam fought in the 73s and put on an excellent show. He won his first two contests by ippon and earned his first ten points towards his 2nd Dan. He then lost the semi to a seasoned competitor and didn't manage to pull back the bronze. It was a great performance and I look forward to accompanying Lyam to more events in the future.
12th July - Willesden Summer Championships
GOLD - Danielle
GOLD - Sam B
GOLD - Hanna
GOLD - Patrick
GOLD - Jonathan
GOLD - Elliot
GOLD - Jason
SILVER - James S
SILVER - Amir
SILVER - Ibrahim
SILVER - Ankur
SILVER - Daniel
BRONZE - Luke D
Above: warming up with Ashley.
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Luke in a contest with one of the Willesden Tiny Tots.
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Sheree presenting trophies to Danielle's group.
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Sam B with his gold and a goodly-sized grin.
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24th August - Lakeland Open, Kendal, Cumbria
Just Lucy and Harkirat made this Northward journey. Harkirat took a bronze in her group. Lucy, however, started her day by moving up to a new weight category, but true to recent form she rose to that challenge and won herself a gold. Positive mental attitude to thank - well done Lucy.
7th September - Heart of England
Not the best of days, but a clear indicator of what needs to be done before the National Championships next month. Rifqa was 7th, Lucy, Rohan and Harkirat were 5th, while Akhil managed a bronze.
14th September - South Coast Junior Open, Worthing
In Worthing the Dynamic Duo were at it again. Lucy and Harkirat were both confident, strategic and skillful in their roads to the finals. Both won gold too. Well done girls.
4th October - Kyu Grade Cup, High Wycombe
In the Novice to green belt section Sevani and Martin put out an excellent performance, each bringing home a bronze.
In the Blue and brown belt group Evelyne had 3 tough fights and despite winning one with a beautifaul counter was unable to secure a medal. John H also fought well, gaining ten valuable points towards his Dan grade, but no no medal this time. Well done to the whole group.
4th October - Tournoi de L'Amitie, Belgium
This was one of the most enjoyable trips of the year, with 11 of our young developing crew taking part. Despite an horrible ferry crossing all of the group were in fantastic fighting form and all brought home medals. In the individual event the results were as follows:
GOLD Harkirat Sekhon
GOLD Eliot Bradford
SILVER Phoebe Harris
BRONZE Hanna Toogood
BRONZE Maxime Cacaly
BRONZE Patrick Bambi
BRONZE Jonathan Sookias
BRONZE Ankur Dodhia
BRONZE Elliot Hawkins-Ahmed
BRONZE Daniel Vary
Following the individual event the organisers were very kean to arrange a team final between us and a local Belgian team, so Harkirat, Phoebe and Hanna joined a girl from Kumo in the East of England to make up a girls' team. They won their final and so each of the girls earned an extra gold to add to the haul.
Team events are always such fun and teach the partipants a whole set of different lessons, especially regarding team work and peer support. Well done to the whole of EJC's fighting squad and especially to the girls for their extra effort.
5th October - British Championships for 10 & 11 Year Olds, Walsall
Kai was EJC's only entrant this year and he fought very well, learning in each bout and consequently fighting better as the day progressed. He didn't make it to the rostrum but I feel sure the valuable experience he earned will stand him in good stead in the future.
11th & 12th October - British Championships, Sheffield
Overall it was a disappointing year fro us, but there were some excellent performances amid the fog. Akhil won all 5 of his contests to become National Champion - well deserved considering the amount of work he has put in throughout the year.
Lucy, Conor & Harkirat all lost for the bronze, placing them 5th. Conor fought particularly well. I can only say that through the year maybe one or two lessons more might have converted those 5ths into bronzes. I'm sure all of these fighters know that and will continue to work hard in the coming year, to improve their results next time round.
Phoebe fought very very well but sadly had to withdraw due to injury. She is now more determined than ever to put the work in for the long haul.
Yugo and ROhan also fought on the Saturday and were unable to take medals. For Yugo it was a very worthwhile day - his first Nationals and a great learning experience.
Below: Akhil is National Champion!
18th October - Willesden Autumn Tournament
This was a nother great turn out for EJC's beginner section.The results were as follows:
GOLD Mathilde Cacaly
GOLD Anthony Chatfield
SILVER Sam Butcher
SILVER Ankur Dodhia
SILVER Matthieu Duarte
SILVER Maxime Cacaly
SILVER Paul Duarte
SILVER Patrick Bambi
SILVER Daniel Vary
BRONZE CLemence Cacaly
BRONZE Matthew Butcher
BRONZE Pierre Maillefaud
BRONZE Jordan George
BRONZE Hani-el Busette
26th October - Hampshire Junior & Senior Open, Portsmouth
In the junior (under 16) section the Brothers Bist were in action. Akhil was up to his usual high standard taking a great gold. Rohan seemed to enjoy his day more towards the end and his perforamce picked up accordingly for him to take a good silver medal.
In the senior low grade section Sevani lashed all opponents for ten with some great pick up techniques to win a gold in the u73s. Martin then put in a good solid performance to take a bronze in the u81s.
In the high grade section John and Lyam both fought in the u73s, having 4 tough contests each. John ended the day 5th, a credible result. Lyam, however, fought brilliantly to pick up a bronze and some points towards his 2nd Dan. Well done lads!
9th November - NHC Red Belt Championships, High Wycombe
Ealing's 3 competitors today were excellent. For Stefan it was his very first red belt tournament, but he wasn't phased a bit. He fought better in each subsequent contest and was awarded a bronze for efforts. Ibrahim did a great job too, taking silver in the boys' u29kg group. Showgo was superb, winning all 3 of his matches by ippon to win the gold. Well done to all 3 boys - it was a really positive performance.
16th November - Pont St Maxence International, France
This is the 3rd time EJC has ventured to this small town near Paris and wow has this tournament grown. This year many categories had more than 50 fighters, making our campaign a pretty tough one. Daniel, new to international competition, fought his heart out and learned so much, but no result on this outing. Phoebe won two and lost two; a credible performance. Eliot wasn't on form and therefore didn't make it into the placings. Conor was fantastic. Due to a glitch in the rules he lost his 2nd contest by decision, with no golden score used.. His opponent went on to win the event! Conor then had 7 more fights in front of him to get a bronze. So he set to the task and threw his next 4 opponents for ippon and his 5th for a yuko, which was enough to win that contest. However, in that fight Conor jarred his shoulder, giving him some discomfort. He had a go in his next contest but the shoulder was too uncomfortable and so there his day ended - 5 excellent contests. Conor was fantastic and deserved better than he got. I am really looking forward to his next tournaments, wherever they will be.
6th December - Willesden Christmas Tournament
GOLD James Sookias
GOLD Anthony Chatfield
GOLD Georgina White
SILVER Luka Kljutic
SILVER Patrick Bambi
SILVER Mathilde Cacaly
BRONZE Sam Butcher
BRONZE Amir Asgari
BRONZE Jonathan Sookias
BRONZE Clemence Cacaly
L-R: Mathilde, Georgina & Clemence with their trophies.
13th & 14th December - Latvian Cadet Open, Aluksne, Latvia
SILVER Harkirat Sekhon
BRONZE Lucy Chamberlain
Eliot and Akhil also made the long journey to Aluksne, but were unable to medal at this very tough pre-Cadet event.
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