British International Open
Right on the back of the kids six week summer break is an awkward time to host a big tournament. Practicing teams etc. is nigh on impossible so it was with a bit of trepidation that we set off for Glasgow on the 4th of September.
On top of this a few regular families withdrew so a coach was impossible and I had to drive a minibus, which I grumbled about big time. In fact I wished I had never booked it.
The big day arrived and we were there fresh and feeling good due to staying local the night before (which is why more families do not do this competition - the two night stop overs). A ten minute drive brought us to the fantastic Emirates arena, easily the best British venue for a competition.
The competition was fantastically refereeed with no really bad areas; this is a first as there is always at least one dodgy area. As usual, there were some great Scottish competitors especially from CEK to help make the day tense and exciting so nothing boring there.
The whole day was well run in a massive spacious arena and we had some good and bad results. A competition would not be fraught with excitement if everything went your way.
Of particular note was Anais Errington a nine year-old eighth kyu with a ridiculous high standard. Anais won gold in individual kata (Kanku-sho and Enpi) and gold in kumite, plus two bronze medals in her team events. You may imagine an 8th kyu doing Kanku-sho would be laughable. Think again when you hear the name Anais Errington.
Eve Palmer took kata gold in 10 to 11 years with a series of Shito-ryu kata and was impeccable. Sadie and Eleisha were mighty impressive taking gold in the pairs kata and Lola Cassidy turned on the style with magnificent fights winning the open weight kumite.
Being only a minibus full of us we all dined together and the following morning had breakfast together. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and we even stopped off at Gretna Green for a bit of sightseeing en route home.
Our squad looks great.
