Held at Kapiti College on 8-9 April, this year’s open showcased several excellent performances from our team.
The Team: Cameron Clarke, Hugo Dewar, Sparkles MacDiarmid, Qona Christie, Will Rivett, Brad Teal, Mike Tench, Max Zhilkin, Sarah Tench, Malcolm Wilson, Geoff Cooper, Oscar Quin, Jay Blair, Aeryn Tench, Tara Stockwell-Williams, Roberta Griffiths, Caitlin McGirr, Kieran Masuda-Morgan, Sean Masuda-Morgan, Aurie Tzeng, James Stockwell Williams, Lucinda Griffiths, Isla Morrison, Arden Grove, Sergey Arykov.
First: Jay, Maxim, Oscar (2), Kieran, Qona (2), Sarah (2), Caitlin,
Roberta (2), Lucinda, Isla, Sergey, Cameron
Second: Geoff, Sparkles, Aurie, Caitlin, Lucinda, Sergey
Third: Hugo, Jay, Sean, Roberta, Caitlin, Isla, Malcolm
Oscar Q beat 3 brown belts for ippon during the day.
Aurie, Kieran and Sean all entered their first competition in Senior Boys. Sean, James and Aurie all found themselves up against last year’s NZ Champion in the division, with all of them lasting more than 2 minutes against him.
Arden won a fight at his first open championship, making a great effort.
Sergey was very impressive in his first open championship, making many higher grades work against him.
Sarah impressed the crowds with her newaza skill in her fights.
Cameron, Mike and Sparkles all competed in both the shiai and kata divisions.
In the Kata competition, Will and Sparkles took 3rd place in the Nage no Kata. This effort was enough to qualify as Will’s grading to Shodan.
John Maxwell and Sparkles competed in the Katame no Kata, this qualified as John’s grading to Nidan.
