Wednesday 19th October was an early 2am start for all students from Stoke Gifford & Thornbury TKD. As we arrived & parked at Gatwick airport we were joined on the shuttle bus by some of region 1’s members. After a smooth check in Master Nicholls, the rest of region 1 & 7 made their way to board the plane. A short flight later we had arrived in Naples, checked into our hotel & were doing the usual exploration of the local area. A few hours later with some essential supplies in hand we settled into our rooms, & prepared for an England team evening meal.
Thursday morning saw the day that most of the team had been waiting for, for many months the weigh in!!! After all the team made their weight with relative ease everyone could relax & look forward to running through some team patterns & eating a good meal. Some of the region’s members joined the rest of the England team on a trip into Naples to see the sights! Then coaches Miss Burridge & Mr Buxton joined the other coaches & made their way to the Tennis hotel for the coaches & umpires meeting. When happy with the draws & rules all the coaches made their way back through the thunder & lightning to their hotels to bed ready for the first day of competition.
Friday saw Stoke Gifford students Billy Smith, Rebecca Dearlove, Nicola Barke & Instructor Miss Kerry Burridge through to finals on Sunday, along with Thornbury instructor Mr Buxton.
Saturday Reece Nicholls from Thornbury joined the region by making it to the finals in sparring on Sunday, along with the junior boys & adult male team making it to the finals of patterns & sparring on Sunday. Sunday was going to be a very busy day!
Final’s day produced 4 gold’s & 3 silvers in individual events & 10 gold’s, 3 silvers & 1 bronze in Team events. All members excluding Miss Burridge were part of the teams. The ladies & men were also crowned overall team champions. The whole event was capped off by England receiving best overall country.
The championship was a massive success for Stoke Gifford, Thornbury TKD & UK ITF. The team was a credit to the coaches.
A special mention goes to the newest edition the of the club’s international champions. Mr Billy Smith European champion!!!
Full club results below;
Kerry Burridge 5th Degree Adult Female
Gold patterns
Adult Female coach
Rebecca Dearlove 3rd Degree Adult Female
Bronze patterns
Silver sparring
Gold team sparring
Gold team patterns
Gold team power
Best overall female team
Billy Smith 2nd Degree Junior Male
Gold patterns
Silver sparring
Silver team sparring
Gold team patterns
Silver team special technique
Silver team power
Nicola Barke 1st Degree Adult Female
Silver sparring
Gold team sparring
Gold team patterns
Gold team special technique
Best overall female team
