Competition with the Junior Forms and Continuous events started the day in the 8 matted rings, with several of the Juniors up first. Jasmine Harford, Lucille Lott, Jason Spiteri, James Swift, Jondalar Grenfell-Sexton, Callum Boyd and Margie Hookway all performed well in their respective division but the competition was a bit too strong. Black Belt Forms were also on early morning with Ian Rollings in the Male section and Lesley McDonald, Dragana Calic, Jess Dubois and Catherine Wilkinson competing in the Female event. No one placed but Lesley made the final. In Junior Continuous, Jasmine Harford lost a close first round bout, but Lucille Lott made it through to the second round before being eliminated. Mid morning saw the Novice, Intermediate and Advanced Seniors in Forms Action with several Team members in action. In Female Advanced, Zoe Tyler placed second, with Kate Jameson third. In Veteran Novice, Steve Tyler was second and Linda Donnellan took out third. Late afternoon action saw the SA Female Sparring Team lose first round but for the guys, it was a different matter. Ian Rollings and Nik McDonald were our representatives in the Male Kumite Team that first beat NSW and then in a most exciting final beat Victoria to take out the Male State Team Shield for the very first time. The atmosphere around the ring was amazing with a huge SA SA SA chant going for the last few bouts of the final. At the end of Day 1, it was 1 x First, 2 x Second and 3 x Third places for the State Team Competitors.
Day 2 action was Kumite with some very good performances throughout the age groups and divisions. Three Kumite Titles came to SA competitors, with Jason Spiteri, Steve Tyler and Jackie Probert all winning their respective Divisions. Catherine Wilkinson took out second place in Female Black Belt Middleweight and Callum Boyd took out third place in his event. In demonstrations, Lesley McDonald and Dragana Calic took out second place. Most competitors made past at least the first round with Tamsin Ing and Lucille Lott just missing out in the third place bout. Day 2 ended with 3 x First, 2 x second and 1 x Third. Final tally for the weekend was Four National Titles, Four Runners Up and Three Third Places. State Team Coaches Sensei Jeremy Thompson and Sensei Shane Bennett were very pleased with all team members and although all were not successful, lessons were learnt that will prove invaluable in years to come.
Sunday night saw GKR State Teams from NSW, Victoria, South Australia and ACT go out for Dinner together, a great idea. Spontaneous applause broke out for Dean Gould as he entered the room, Champion of Champions Belt draped across his shoulder. Later in the evening, Lachlan Carr and Anthony Ryan both made speeches congratulating all competitors, with Lachlan thanking Sensei Anthony for all the work he put into the National Squad. Later that evening, team members celebrated back at the adjacent Venue to our base, where we were joined by several of the NSW GKR people including Dean Gould, Ben Cunningham, Sharri Lembryk, Allan Dabbagh and Trudy Gould. It was a great way to end the weekend and celebrate not only the wins but also the fine spirit in which all competed.
Thanks to Lindy Swift, Kate Jamieson, Tamsin Ing, Kathy Tyler and others for photos.
Ringside
