MATCH REPORTS Jan-Jun 2015

3rd January - Donderslag International Tournament, Belgium

Rhys Connor, Ibrahim Abdelaal, Cameron Harvey, Ryan Burt, Jess Gordon-Brown & Sammie Grant competed at this well attended event, featuring large teams from Germany and the Netherlands. Cameron placed 5th in the Cadet age band, in a group of 34 athletes, while Jess picked up an excellent silver in the senior women's u52kg category.

Above: Jess on the rostrum 

3rd January - Donderslag International Ne-Waza Open, Belgium

This event runs in the evening after the main event has finished and is growing bigger year on year. Rhys wasn't yet old enough to take part but the rest of the team were up for the challenge and all performed excellently. Ibrahim placed 7th, despite being the youngest and lightest in his group. Cameron put in some great Senior Judo to win silver in the u25 age band, while Jess and Sammie each won a bronze medal. Ryan missed out but is eager to have another go next year.

Above: the EJC team in Belgium

11th January - Oud Turnhout International, Belgium

This was an excellent day for the 3 Tiny Mighties. They each won all of their contests by ippon, to come home with 3 gold medals.

L-R: Poppy, Peter & Luke

There was a little bonus at this event, in the form of Belgian superstar judoka Johan Laats. His son fought the final with Peter. The Tiny Mighties enjoyed hearing about his career.

17th January - Scottish Open, Edinburgh, Scotland

In the Junior age band Showgo and Harkirat each won bronze. The senior event offered a hard-fought gold for Julia and a bronze for Sammie, while Jess placed 5th.

17th January - African Open, Tunisia

Nekoda was selected to represent Great Britain at the first Olympic qualifier of 2015 and went to work quickly, securing a bronze medal and more points towards Rio 2016. She beat Leski of Slovenia by ippon in the first round, before taking a surprise loss against Centraccio of Italy on penalties. In the repecharge Nekoda beat Deidhiou of Senegal and finally Equisoain. 

18th January - British Schools Qualifier (Midlands), Nottingham

SILVER Ryan Burt
BRONZE Cameron Harvey

25th January - South Coast Green Belt & Below, Worthing

Peter and Rhys missed out on medals, despite strong early rounds from each boy. Luke Davies, Megan and Hollie put in impressive displays to win 3 gold medals, with Luke fighting in a particularly tough golden score final.

1st February - Belgian Ladies Open, Arlon, Belgium

Harkirat, Julia and Charlotte all fought very well at this notoriously tough, global event. Charlotte placed 7th and the next day all 3 trained their socks of at the international Spa camp nearby.Well done girls!

7th February - European Open, Sofia, Bulgaria

Nekoda fought very well against a class act from Germany, Waechter, losing on a yuko score. Losing in the first round put Nekoda out of the tournament far earlier than she would have liked. Nekoda will be ready for the next Olympic qualifier, however.

8th February - Nottingham Red Belt Championships, Nottingham

GOLD Maddy Birri
GOLD Peter Davies
GOLD Mounir Baaziz
GOLD Ashton Harvey
SILVER Francesca Birri
SILVER Alexey Beliakov

These 6 Tiny Mighties were so positive and so professional today, that they could have been mistaken for seasoned seniors. They were perfect ambassadors for the club and came home with medals to reflect their excellent work. Well done to a fantastic team.

14th February - North-West Age Bands, St Helens, Merseyside

Ryan, Ibrahim and Showgo made the long trip up to St Helens. All fought well, with Showgo picking up a good silver medal. 

20th February - Dusseldorf Grand Prix, Dusseldorf, Germany

Nekoda beat Michailova of Lithuania in the first round, before losing to Olympic bronze medalist, Marti Malloy of USA, in round two, putting Nekoda out of the tournament.

21st & 22nd February - British Universities Championships, Sheffield

On day 1, in the high grade categories, Harkirat and Julia become British Universities Champions and have been selected to represent Great Britain later in the year in the European Universities Championships being held in Reims, France. Jess placed 5th and Charlotte was unable to compete due to university and BUCS administrative errors, no fault of her own. 

On day 2 Luke Easton placed 7th, in the Kyu grade event.

22nd February - South Coast Senior Split Grade, Worthing

GOLD Rtan Burt
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
SILVER Hollie Walmsley
SILVER Giovanny Antalika
BRONZE Pierre Powell
BRONZE Karl-Kareem Melaini
BRONZE Cameron Harvey
BRONZE Sammie Grant
BRONZE Scott Turner

we offer a special mention to Hollie and Karl-Kareem, for whom this event was the first with them competing as Seniors. 

28th February - IAPS Championships, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Ibrahim Abdelaal was our only fighter at this event and he could not have performed better, winning every contest by ippon, to bring home a gold medal.

7th March - Swiss Senior European Cup, Zurich

At u48kg Harkirat lost to Milani or Italy in the 1st round and that out her out of the competition. At u52kg Julia started well, beaten Biederman of Lichtenstein by ippon in round one. She the. Lost to the eventual finalist Tschopp of Switzerland, who was competing at u52 for the first time, having been competing on the global circuit at u57 for some years. In the repecharge Julia then lost to Nagano of Japan in ne-waza at the end of a close match.

7th March - British Schools Championships, Sheffield

In the Year 6-7 section Rhys had a good day, winning his quarter final and semi-final each by ippon. In the final Rhys lost out, but he came away with a very credible silver medal.

In the Year 10-11 section Ryan (u60kg) & Cameron (u73kg) each won all of their contests to win double gold. Well done all.

8th March - English Open

In the Junior (u21) section Jess won a bronze, while Ryan and Cameron were unable to secure a result.

In the Senior section Jess took another bronze, while Vlad and Scott each placed 5th. Giovanny was unable to dent the field today.

14th March - London Development Event, UEL, Docklands

Red Belts
SILVER Peter Davies
BRONZE Sean Higgins
BRONZE Edvin Kudriavcev
BRONZE Alexey Beliakov
BRONZE Aniss Rabia
BRONZE Mehdi Rabia
BRONZE Gene Astley

Yellow Belts
SILVER Poppy Love
SILVER Francesca Birri
BRONZE Maddy Birri
BRONZE Samuel Spencer

Senior Kyu Grades
SILVER Pierre Powell
SILVER Joao Lobato
SILVER Salah Rabia

14th March - Spanish Cadet European Cup, Fuengirola, Spain

This was Showgo's debut selection. He lost to Ramirez of Spain and Aramu of Italy, but learned a lot about what is needed to compete at this level.

15th March - Coventry Boys Mini-Mon, Coventry, Midlands

Our 3 competitors put in excellent performances to bring home golds for Luke and Peter Davies and a bronze medal for Edvin Kudriavcev. Jo was able to participate too, with a little refereeing. 

21st March - Sarajevo European Cup, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Jo and Julia made the tricky trip out to Sarajevo for this strong Senior European Cup. Julia fought excellently against some world class opposition. She threw Hungary's Balogh for ippon in the first round, but then lost to World Bronze Medalist, Buchard of France. Buchard pulled Julia back in and in the repecharge she fought the experienced Croatian, Bekic. Julia was armlocked in that contest to exit the competition. This was a very positive trip, showing Julia that she is totally at home at this level.

22nd March - EJC Under 9s Invitation, Ealing, London

GOLD Peter Davies
GOLD Tyler Offiah
GOLD Chloe Page
GOLD Nina Beliakova
SILVER Mehdi Rabia
SILVER Louis Gerard-Hay-Brown
SILVER Aniss Rabia
SILVER Phoenix Offiah
SILVER Edward Gamelivic
SILVER Edouard Gerard-Hay-Brown
SILVER Ellis Davies
SILVER Robyn Davies
BRONZE Edvin Kudriavcev
BRONZE William Elford
BRONZE Sean Higgins
BRONZE Daniel MacKenzie
BRONZE Tas Kiss
BRONZE Jawed Mohamed
BRONZE Anton Derkach

Above: our Tiny Mighties with their rewards and smiles.

27th March - Samsun Grand Prix, Samsun, Turkey

Nekoda fought excellently in Samsun, winning her first Grand Prix medal and bucket load of Olympic qualifying points. She beat Csatari of Italy, Durbach of Luxembourg and Mueller of Germany, before losing the semi-final to World medalist Verhagen of the Netherlands. In the fierce bronze medal match Nekoda eventually threw Zeltner for waza-ari and held her down. This is a massive step into the top level for our girl.

29th March - Kempen Cup, Herentals, Belgium

This tiny trio of Mighties has done it again! We travelled to the Kempen Cup in Belgium, where the entry was good from Belgian and Dutch competitors. All 3 of our monsters won every contest and they each walked away with gold, for their respective categories. This was a magnificant, but also consistent performance, with each youngster showing just how professional they can be.

2nd April - Hackney Development Event, Hackney, London

Congratulations to our Tiny Mighties, who travelled to Hackney today for this fun event. There were golds for Luke and Peter, silvers for Alexey and Tylaer and bronze medals for Robyn, Ellis, Nina and Phoenix. Well done to all and thanks to the parents who made the journey with us.

4th April - Sportif International, Edinburgh, Scotland

A-Band
SILVER Megan Walmsley

Pre-Cadet
BRONZE Sofija Bojat
Rhys Connor fought well but with no medal

Cadet
GOLD Showgo Kimura
7th place Hollie Walmsley

Junior (u21)
SILVER Jess Gordon-Brown

18th April - Bishops Stortford Mini-Mon, Hertfordshire

Under 12
GOLD Peter Davies
GOLD Luke Davies
SILVER Ashton Harvey
BRONZE Samuel Spencer

Peter was asked to particpate in the 12 and over section to give contests to an older light weight judoka. Peter did so and won a bronze for his efforts.

L-R: Samuel, Luke and Peter with their medals.

19th April - Bishops Stortford Teams, Hertfordshire

We must begin by saying how incredibly proud we are of all 6 boys' team spirit, effort and determination today. Our baby boys team of Luke, Adam and Dominic weighed in bang on weight at 105kg between them and fought 5 tough rounds to win bronze. Of their 15 combined contests, only 4 were won by ippon, showing how challenging this event was. They ground out the wins, refusing to let one another down.

Our big boys team weighed in 15kg light of the 170kg limit, but they were ready for the battles. Tohgo, Ibrahim and Showgo set to work, winning each of their 4 rounds, beating Pinewood in the final to win gold. They had real presence, looking like professionals throughout the day.

25th & 26th April - Northern Ireland Open, Belfast

Dragging this crowd through airports is at the very least entertaining! We love 'em.

Saturday
Junior (u21)
BRONZE Ryan Burt
BRONZE Jess Gordon-Brown
BRONZE Harkirat Sekhon

Senior
GOLD Julia Scardone
BRONZE Jess Gordon-Brown
BRONZE Harkirat Sekhon
5th place Scott Turner

Sunday
Minors
SILVER Megan Walmsley
BRONZE Ashton Harvey
BRONZE Peter Davies

Pre-Cadets
GOLD Sofija Bojat

Cadets
BRONZE Ryan Burt
5th place Cameron Harvey

This weekend Sammie, little Luke, Hollie and Ibrahim also fought, but without placing. Well done to the whole team and thanks, as always, to the travelling fan club. 

1st May - Zagreb Grand Prix, Croatia

In Zagreb Nekoda had the day of her career so far, coming out on top with a gold medal and a healthy serving of Olympic ranking points. She had 5 contests, winning all, 4 out of 5 by ippon, including the final against Olympic bronze medalist, Malloy of the USA. Nekoda also beat the Canadian number 1, an Italian, Zeltner of Austria and Olympic silver medalist, Caprioriu of Romania. We are all so proud.

2nd May - London Development Event, UEL, East London

Red Belts
GOLD Emma Martinelli
SILVER Peter Davies
SILVER Edvin Kudriavcev
SILVER Tyler Offiah
BRONZE Nina Beliakova
BRONZE Alexey Beliakov
BRONZE Aniss Rabia
BRONZE Mehdi Rabia

Yellow Belts
GOLD Mounir Baaziz
BRONZE Alessio Martinelli

Seniors
GOLD Salah Rabia
BRONZE Luke Easton

3rd May - BJC National Open, Kettering

GOLD Rhys Connor
GOLD Ryan Burt
GOLD Cameron Harvey
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
GOLD Giovanny Antalika
SILVER Pierre Powell
SILVER Daniel Woodhouse
BRONZE Mounir Baaziz
BRONZE Luke Easton
BRONZE Joao Lobato
BRONZE Scott Turner
BRONZE Sammie Grant

Peter Davies, Luke Davies, Adam Burt and Kyle Fernandez all fought in this event but without results. 

8th May - Baku Grand Slam, Azerbaijan

Just a week after winning gold in Zagreb, Nekoda was off again, this time to Baku for a Grand Slam. In round 1 she beat Olympic Champion Quintavalle of Italy by ippon, before defeating Waechter of Germany and Ohai of Romania, before meeting Caprioriu in the final. There Nekoda made a small error, leaving her arm available in transition and this left her with a silver medal, not her favourite colour.

Performing consistently well at this level is no easy task and Nekoda is showing clearly the athlete she is becoming, taking yet another medal in this Olympic qualifying tour. Great work.

9th May - Lithuania Junior European Cup, Kaunas, Lithuania

Harkirat won in the first round, beating one of the home athletes, before losing in round 2 to a Russian opponent, putting her out of the event. Jess competed here, in her first Junior European Cup and despite a good performance did not progress through the rounds.

9th May - Romanian European Cadet Cup, Napoca, Romania

Showgo travelled with a selected GB delegation and despite improvements in training he could not get a result in his first round contest against Manolache of Moldova.

10th May - Belgrade Open, Serbia

Sofija fought with great heart at this regional qualifier for the Serbian National Championships and despite considerable obstacles she kept her head and won gold. Great job Sofija!

16th May - Bois Du Cazier, Marcinelle, Belgium

We had a really enjoyable trip to Belgium, with all of the Tiny Mighties picking up medals and all learning lots. Luke Davies and Maddy Birri won golds, Peter Davies and Adam Burt won silver medals and Francesca Birri won a bronze. Well done to all.

17th May - Osterley Under 8s, Hounslow, Middlesex

Well done to our Tiniest Mighties for being such great mini ambassadors for our club. Ellis Davies won a silver, while Robyn Davies, Phoenix Offiah, Matthew Bailey and Callum Burt each won a bronze medal. 

23rd May - Spanish Junior European Cup, Coruna, Spain

Harkirat travelled with the GB squad to this European Cup. She fought against an Italian forst but weas unable to secure the win and so this ended her day.

23rd May - World Masters, Rabat, Morocco

Nekoda was invited to compete at this exclusive event, only for thos in the top 16 in the world. At this tournament there are no easy draws and today Nekoda lost in the first round against Dorjsuren of Mongolia.

23rd & 24th May - London Open, UEL, East London

On Saturday Ryan and Cameron each won gold in the Cadet age band, while Ibrahim missed out. In the 'A' Band Megan won silver, Luke Davies won bronze and Peter Davies placed 5th, losing to a boy from Luxembourg in the bronze medal match.

On Sunday Ryan won gold in the Junior age band while in the Senior groups Jess won gold, Giovanny won silver, Vlad won bronze and Sammie placed 5th.

24th May - Serbian National Championships, Nish, Serbia

We are very proud of Sofija for showing such maturity, travelling without her usual team around her. She fought her socks off to come away with a very tough silver medal. Massive congratulations from us all at home.

30th & 31st May - Venray International Tournament, Venray, Holland

Venray proved to be an excellent event for us this year, with our athletes picking up 4 medals, which EJC has never done before. On Saturday Tyler Offiah won silver in the 2006-7 age band. Peter Davies won two fights in this age band too, but did not make it to the rostrum. 

In the 2004-5 age band Luke Davies fought really well to place 5th out of 41 fighters and little Poppy Love won a bronze medal, winning 3 out of her 4 contests.Tohgo's group was also huge, with 40+ boys present, at u46kg in the 2001-3 age band. He fought well, winning 3 out of his 5 contests.

On Sunday in the Cadet group Ryan enjoyed his first experience of judo at this level, but did not medal. Showgo however, had a really tough day but showed his mental toughness, winning 5 out of his 6 contests to bring home a fantastic bronze medal. In the Senior section Charlotte won a bronze medal, while Sammie didn't make it to the podium.

Well done to the whole team!

6th & 7th June - NHC Open, Harlow, Essex

GOLD Jess Gordon-Brown (Juniors)
GOLD Ryan Burt (Juniors)
GOLD Jess Gordon-Brown (Seniors)
GOLD Sammie Grant
SILVER Cameron Harvey
SILVER Giovanny Antalika
BRONZE Rhys Connor
BRONZE Ryan Burt (Cadets)
BRONZE Scott Turner
BRONZE Daniel Woodhouse
BRONZE Ryan Burt (Seniors)

Ibrahim & Showgo also fought in the Cadet age band, but without medals to bring home this time.

14th June - South Coast Red & Yellow Belt Open, Worthing

GOLD Luke Davies
GOLD Oscar Gjesdal
SILVER Peter Davies
SILVER Edvin Kudriavcev
SILVER Tyler Offiah
SILVER Maddy Birri
BRONZE Alexey Beliakov
BRONZE Ashton Harvey
BRONZE Mounir Baaziz

20th June - London Youth Games, Crystal Palace, London

Today our players represented the Borough of Ealing in this strong inter-borough tournament. Luke Davies and Ibrahim Abdelaal won excellent gold medals, while Erik Gee won bronze and Oscar Gjesdal placed 5th. Adam missed out on the placings, narrowly, after giving a good performance.

25th June - European Games (European Championships), Baku, Azerbaijan

Nekoda had a frustrating day at the European Championships, losing in the first round, contraversially, to her Russian opponent.

27th & 28th June - Kent International, Medway Park, Kent

On Saturday Tohgo won gold, Megan won bronze, Dominic placed 5th and Adam & Rhys missed out. On Sunday Sammie won gold and Cameron and Scott each won silver medals. Well done to all.