MATCH REPORTS Jan-Jun 2016

9th January - Donderslag International Ne-Waza Tournament, Belgium

Ryan fought in the under 25 age band and won 3 out of 4 contests to take a great bronze. Sammie fought in the over 35 age band and also won bronze, employing a particularly fast arm-lock in the bronze medal match. Well done to both. 

9th & 10th January - Donderslag International, Gruitrode-Meeuwen, Belgium

Saturday
Adam placed 5th and Francesca struggled to get a result in the under 15 age band. Our two seniors also had a really tough time and came away without a podium finish.

Sunday
Maddy and Luke fought in the u13 section, securing a gold and a silver respectively. Ellis and Peter fought in the u11 section and won a bronze and a silver. 

16th January - Scottish Open, Edinburgh

Junior (u21)
GOLD Showgo Kimura
5th place Ryan Burt

Senior
BRONZE Jess Gordon-Brown
5th place Giovanny Antalika
5th place Sammie Grant

Masters
GOLD Giovanny Antalika

23rd January - NHC British Schools Qualifier

Rhys Connor competed in the Year 8/9 dividion and won his first contest well. However he was then unable to reach the rostrum and so is looking forward to his next opportunity. 

6th February - Paris Grand Slam

Nekoda won her first contest against an opponent from the Ivory Coast, with a massive upon throw but then lost in the next round to the strong Mongolian athlete and there ended Nekoda's day. 

7th February - Surrey Kyu Grade Open, Redhill

SILVER Pierre Powell
SILVER Salah Rabia
BRONZE Joao Lobato

13th February - Micklefield Mini-Mon, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

GOLD Gene Astley
GOLD Jaap Kaur 
GOLD Peter Davies
GOLD Dlair Singh
SILVER Aniss Rabia
BRONZE Ellis Davies
BRONZE Mehdi Rabia
BRONZE Maya Aubert-Gomez
BRONZE Tyler Offiah

19th February - Düsseldorf Grand Prix, Germany

Nekoda fought excellently through her 5 contests, winning the bronze after throwing the fiersome Korean, Jandi Kim, for waza-ari. an outstanding performance and some more welcome Olympic qualification points. 

20th February - British Universities Championships, Sheffield

BRONZE Jess Gordon-Brown

21st February - To-Zai International, Holland

Our tiny Mighties were on fantastic form at this well-attended Dutch event. 

GOLD Robyn Davies
GOLD Poppy Love 
GOLD Peter Davies
SILVER Jaap Kaur
BRONZE Luke Davies

Ellis Davies also competed but without a rostrum finish. 

This was Robyn and Jaap's first international tournament.

South Coast Senior Split Grade Open, Worthing, Sussex

GOLD Erik Gee
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
BRONZE Sammie Grant

27th February - North-West Age bands, Blackburn, Up North

SILVER Yacine Sifi
BRONZE Sofija Bojat
BRONZE Erik Gee

Tohgo Kimura also competed but did not gain a podium place this time. 

12th March - London Development Event, UEL, Docklands

GOLD Jaap Kaur
GOLD Maya Aubert-Gomez
GOLD Aniss Rabia
GOLD Mehdi Rabia
GOLD Valentine Bachelez
GOLD Peter Davies
SILVER Alexey Beliakov
SILVER Dlair Singh
BRONZE Gene Astley
BRONZE Ellis Davies

13th March - English Junior (u21) & Senior Open, Thetford, Norfolk

Junior
BRONZE Showgo Kimura
5th place Ryan Burt
No result Erik Gee

Senior
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
BRONZE Ryan Burt
BRONZE Giovanny Antalika
5th place Yacine Sifi
No result Lovepreet Singh & Sammie Grant

19th March - Bremen Men's Open, Germany

Showgo represented GBR at this tough Junior international. He fought at -55kg, where he lost his first contest but then won his 2nd, moving further along the repecharge. His 3rd fight was a second loss, ending his day.

19th March - Malta Open

Pre-Cadet
GOLD Rhys Connor

Cadet
GOLD Rhys Connor
GOLD Sofija Bojat

Senior
GOLD Jess Gordon-Brown
GOLD Scott Turner
SILVER Sofija Bojat
SILVER Jess Gordon-Brown (Open)
SILVER Scott Turner (Open)
BRONZE Ryan Burt
BRONZE Sammie Grant (Open)

1st April - Samsun Grand Prix, Turkey

Nekoda beat DurBach of Luxembourg and then lost to the former world number 1 Roper of Germany. She then won in the repecharge to face and beat Stoll of Germany for the bronze medal. More Olympic qualification points, great work. 

2nd & 3rd April - British Schools Championships, Sheffield

Our 5 entrants have of their best at this tough event. On saturday Adam had 5 challenging contests and placed 7th in the end. Francesca did not place and Connor had a great day, einning a silver medal. On Sunday Luke Davies, pictured below, won al of his 4 contests to take the gold, with Erik placing 5th. Well done to the whole team.

16th April - Czech Cadet European Cup, Teplice, Czech Republic

Sofija was selected to represent our country in this very tough international tournamnet. She had a challenging draw, losing to an eventual finalist in the first round. She then beat  Toth of Hungary in the repechanrge before losing to a German opponent and going out of the running. It was an excellent debut and we are sure it won't be her last selection. 

Bishops Stortford Mini-Mon, Hertfordshire

GOLD Aniss Rabia
GOLD Mehdi Rabia
GOLD Jaap Kaur
SILVER Peter Palotas
SILVER Viktoria Palotas
SILVER Peter Davies
SILVER Valentine Bachelez
BRONZE Ellis Davies
BRONZE Maya Aubert-Gomez
BRONZE Dlair Singh

17th April - Bishops Stortford Team Championships, Hertfordshire

We had an excellent day at this well-attended and warmly run event. Our middleweight girls' team lost a player and at the last minute drafted in a sub from Moberly. Maddy and francesca and their new team-mate put up a great performance but finished just outside the medals. Our lightweight boys' team of Peter Davies, Dlair Singh and Peter Palotas were spirited and dynamic, making it on to the podium with an excellent bronze. Our middleweight boys' team also managed a bronze, with some very mature performances from Mounir Baaziz, Luke Davies and Adam Burt. Our heavyweight boys' team also fought well and finished their day with silver. Well done to Tohgo, Rhys and Erik.

21st April - Senior European Championships, Kazan, Russia

Nekoda had a gruelling day in Russia, kicking off with a win against the home girl and another against former junior world champion Arleta Podolak of Poland. A loss in the quarter final to Receveux of France then put her in front of Germany's Miriam Roper. Nekoda won by armlock to move into the bronze medal match, where she lost to her Kosovan opponent, to be left with 5th. So close to that podium, but still a lot or qualification points earned. On to the next...

23rd & 24th April - NHC Open, Hornchurch, Essex

On Saturday Connor won bronze while Adam and Rhys missed out on medals. On Sunday, with a bigger team competing our results were as follows:

GOLD Luke Davies
GOLD Ryan Burt (u21)
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
GOLD Sammie Grant (Masters)
SILVER Giovanny Antalika (Senior)
SILVER Giovanny Antalika (Masters)
BRONZE Ryan Burt (Senior)
BRONZE Scott Turner
BRONZE Sammie Grant (Senior)

6th May - Baku Grand Slam, Azerbaijan

Nekoda had an excellent day today, beating Podolak, Filzmoser and Lu, before losing a close final to Yoshida of Japan. A silver medal and some more world ranking points were Nekoda's reward. 

7th May - Lithuania Junior European Cup, Kaunas, Lithuania

Our young team of 3 learned a lot this weekend and despite poor results, fought well. Sofija, at only 24 and At her first Junior international, won her first contest and then lost in the second round without an opportunity to compete in the repecharge. Ryan and showgo each lost the first contests but are eager to return next year. 

7th May - London & NHC Development Event, UEL, Docklands

Our red belts, Aniss and Mehdi fought hard but didn't managed to get in the mix for medals this time. In the senior section Pierre Powell won gold, Aisha Boudjillouli won silver and Salah Rabia won bronze. All 5 members of the group equipped themselves well. 

21st & 22nd May - London Open, UEL

Saturday
GOLD Luke Davies
GOLD Jaap Kaur
BRONZE Connor Gossedge
Peter Davies, Dlair Singh, Adam Burt, Oscar Gjesdal and Rhys Connor all fought but without medals at the end of it. 

Sunday
GOLD Ryan Burt (-21)
GOLD Vladimir Oleinic
GOLD Natasha Glassford
GOLD Giovanny Antalika (Masters)
SILVER Ryan Burt (Senior)
SILVER Giovanny Antalika (Senior)
SILVER Sammie Grant (Masters)
BRONZE Scott Turner
BRONZE Sammie Grant (Senior)
mantas Grinaveckis fought without result. 

27th May - IJF World Masters, Guadalajara, Mexico

Nekoda had to settle for 7th place and an injured knee at the final Olympic qualifier of the cycle. she beat Roper first but then lost narrowly to the current world number 1, Dorjsuren of Mongolia. She then lost to Karakas of Hungary and had to depart. 

28th May - High Wycombe Masters, Bucks

GOLD Giovanny Antalika 
BRONZE John Hough

4th June - Osterley Invitation, Hounslow

GOLD Ellis Davies
BRONZE Robyn Davies

4th & 5th June - Venray International, Netherlands

Above: a whole lot of Sofija and her awesome weekend. 
Below: Luke Davies with his medal

On Saturday Luke Davies won bronze out of a group of 40 plus boys from all over Europe. It was an excellent performance and a very determined one at that.  Peter Davies went two losses and out but fought well in both contests and was pleased to have fought. 

On Sunday Jess won gold in the senior section, while sofija won bronze in the Cadet age band, with 4 strong repecharge wins. Ryan placed 5th in the Junior age band. Erik and Sammie were unable to medal. 

12th June - East Fours, Thetford, Norfolk

GOLD Ryan Burt
GOLD Lovepreet Singh
GOLD Scott Turner
GOLD Tyler Offiah
GOLD Dlair Singh
GOLD Maya Aubert-Gomez
GOLD Adam Burt
GOLD Connor Gossedge
SILVER Erik Gee
SILVER Peter Davies
SILVER Jaap Kaur
BRONZE Ellis Davies

Erik and Lovepreet competed in the Dan grading immediately after the competition and both won their black belts. What a fabulous day!

18th June - London Youth Games

GOLD Tohgo Kimura
SILVER Luke Davies
BRONZE Oscar Gjesdal
BRONZE Connor Gossedge

Well done to Sam Amin and Adam Burt for their efforts, despite not coming home with medals. 

25th & 26th June - Kent International, Medway Park

Saturday (u16) - Yellow belts
SILVER Victoria Palotas
SILVER Tyler Offiah
BRONZE Peter Davies
Peter Palotas fought well but without a podium finish.

Saturday (u16) - Orange & green belts
BRONZE Maddy Birri
BRONZE Connor Gossedge
Luke Davies, Francesca Birri & Adam Burt all fought without a medal-winning performance. in the blue & brown belt section Rhys was our only competitor and he did not medal this time. 

Sunday (u21)
GOLD Ryan Burt

Sunday (Senior)
SILVER Scott Turner 
BRONZE Jess Gordon-Brown
BRONZE Natasha Glassford
BRONZE Giovanny Antalika
Lovepreet & Mantas each placed 5th.

Sunday (Masters)
GOLD Giovanny Antalika