More medals for karate team (From Barry And District News)

More medals for karate team

THE University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus was the venue on February 19 and 20, when the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) hosted the 2005 BUSA Karate Championships.

Vale Karate Junior Coach Gareth Reynolds is studying for his Masters in Sports Science at UWIC, and attended these championships with some confidence as he has won this event on two previous occasions!

In July of 2004 Gareth, alongside Vale Karate team-mate Billy Seagrim, was selected to represent Great Britain at The World Universities Championships in Serbia.

And against champions from around the globe, he won a bronze medal.

A two-time Welsh Karate Governing Body Champion (the only Sports Council recognised Governing Body for karate in Wales), Gareth has been plagued by injury over the last couple of years.

Gareth had a bye in the first round, but then went on to give the large crowd and his rivals a demonstration of truly world-class Kumite.

He finished all his matches well within the three-minute limit, winning with maximum scores 8-0, 10-0, 10-0 and in the final took his third BUSA title with an 11-1 victory.

Gareth was joined at the BUSA's by Vale Karate Kata coach Bo Channon who competed in the Black Belt Kata event.

Bo is a mature student at Glamorgan Uni. Bo beat each of his first five opponents by the maximum 3-0 score on the way to the final.

However, the expected Vale double was not to be, as a slight mistake against an outstanding opponent in the final forced Bo to accept the silver medal.

Both Gareth and Bo are now hoping to be selected for the Welsh squad for the Senior European Champion- ships which take place in Tenerife at the end of May.

As is sometimes the case, the Vale Squad were forced apart as The Vale Junior squad were competing down the Motorway in Dudley, where history's most successful Karate champion Wayne Otto, OBE, was hosting The 2005 Children's Future Championships.

Both 12-year-old Rhys Davies and Natasha Paton, aged 13, are current British Champions, both being victorious at The British Karate Federation Championships in Sheffield in June (the BKF is the only Sports Council recognised umbrella organisation for Karate in Britain) and in Dudley, both were again on form.

Rhys took part in the Boys 10-12 years event and after five fights against youngsters from all over Britain came up against team-mate Scott Paramore in the final.

Whenever the friends meet in combat a tough battle ensues and this was no exception. Eventually Rhys edged Scott out with a 6-3 win.

Natasha Paton is known as'Tornado Tasha' with good reason! At 12 she was the official (Welsh Karate Governing Body) Under-16 champion.

Here again she was pitted against girls up to two years older and although it was extremely hard work, she joined Rhys as a Vale Champion.

A week later, in Nottingham, The AMA International Open took place. Against some of the best competitors in Britain and Europe Vale Karate once again shone.

Elliot Evans won a kata bronze, with Leah Copeland (a bronze medallist at January's British Internat- ional Open), Alice Hooper and Rhys Davies all winning silvers.

Bo Channon went out in the semi-finals of the senior kata to his arch-rival British and Commonwealth champion Jon Mottram.

Scott Paramore was a revelation, winning his most prestigious title to date: AMA International champ in the Under 14 Kumite.

Tornado Tasha' Paton won her second gold in two weeks. The final event for Vale Karate was Gareth Reynolds' kumite event.

He won both his quarter and semi-final's 8-0 to come up against current Common- wealth Champion Milo Hodge, who won 11-9.