B.K.A. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2003

BLACKPOOL Sports Centre

5 th October 2003

 

A big thank you to all the referees and judges who turned up to support this years tournament. We once more had a good attendance with clubs from Wales , Scotland and England .

The spoils, were, on the whole, well spread out, with clubs from all over the country picking up trophies, always a good thing rather than one group dominating.

Of the BKA clubs, Chikara triumphed with 10 awards, a difficult time for them after the recent, sad loss of Dougie Phillips. They did particularly well in the Men's Kumite taking six of the twelve places. Dave Ward won for the last time as he used this tournament to bring the curtain down on an excellent fighting career.

Hot on the heels of Chikara were Blackpool Budokan with eight awards. Instructors Shirley Clarke and Rob Campbell had just returned from Japan , training with Suzuki Sensei, and therefore must have been pleased with the efforts of their students.

Instructor Gary Oosthuizen of Funakoshi Karate was very pleased with himself as he won his Kata section and then came 2nd in the Kumite, well worth the trip he made from London .

In the junior categories Brian Bentham's Ryu Do Shotokan did well winning the Peewee kumite and had 1st place wins in the ladies kata and Kumite and two members of John Williams club, Jin Do Ryu, went back to Wales with two second place wins.

We had very few incidents and from the feedback received it seems that everyone enjoyed the day. We look forward to next year and well done to all the competitors who entered.

Thanks again to all the referees, judges and table officials; John Williams, Brian Bentham, Mark D'Arcy, Dave Young, Robert Thomas, Rob Campbell, Derek Willoughby, Dave McIntyre, Jim Crouch, Michael Crossley, Harry Vernon, Shirley Clarke. Thank you to Sue Doyle and Elaine McClave from Chikara who help us with table duties. Mike McCusker and Stuart Gordon of Hokushin, Scotland, who have always supported the BKA tournaments and assist us in officiating,