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, Daniel Andrew 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 Nik McDonald and Ian Rollings in the Male section and Barb Hesselschwerdt competing in the Female event. Unfortunately no one placed but each performed well. In Junior Continuous, Jasmine Harford and Lucille competed well but missed out prior to the Medal rounds.
Mid morning saw the Novice, Intermediate and Advanced Seniors Forms competition with several Team members in action. In Female Advanced, Zoe Tyler was first, with Kate Jamieson third and Linda Neighbour fourth. In Veteran Novice, Steve Tyler was unplaced as was Lindy Swift in her division. Peter Baker finished mid field in his Veteran Advanced division, with Simon Muir unplaced in Male Intermediate Forms. Late afternoon action saw both the SA Male Advanced Sparring Team (Jeremy Thompson, Nik McDonald and Ian Rollings) and SA Female Advanced Sparring Team (Kate Jamieson, Barb Hesselschwerdt, Zoe Tyler, Linda Neighbour and Lindy Swift) lose their first semi-final round bouts, but both bounced back to win the third place bouts. The SA Male Novice Sparring Team (Simon Muir) faced Victoria in the final and in a close result came out on top to win the National title. At the end of Day 1, it was 2 x First and , 2 x Second and 3 x Third places for the State Team Competitors. Saturday night, most competitors and their partners/families enjoyed a Team BBQ at Sandcastles Resort, our regular accommodation venue for Gold Coast Tournaments.
Day 2 action was Sparring with some very good performances throughout the age groups and divisions. No Kumite Titles came to SA competitors, but Zoe Tyler came second and Linda Neighbour came third in Female Advanced, Margie Hookway lost her final in sudden death to also pick up second in her Junior Female division and Steve Tyler came second in Male Advanced Veteran. The Junior Syncronised Kata Team performed very well and were unlucky not to place higher than the third place they achieved. Most competitors made at least past the first round but they were in strong advanced competition. Jeremy Thompson lost his semi-final bout to eventual winner Dean Gould but couldn't bounce back in the third place fight to finish in fourth place. Day 2 ended with 2 x second and 2 x Third. Final tally for the weekend was Two National Titles, Three Runners Up and Five Third Places. Whilst not as successful medals wise as some past years, of the small team of 17 competitors, 13 took home a Trophy/Medal for Individual and/or Team events. State Team Coaches Sensei Jeremy Thompson and Sensei Shane Bennett were very pleased with all team members and although all were not successful, the overall performance level was quite high.
Sunday night saw GKR representatives and partners/families from NSW, Victoria and South Australia go out for Dinner together at the Surfers Paradise RSL. We had the Balcony area all to ourselves and the 80+ attendees had a great evening. 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 John McDonald, Margie Hookway, Kate Jamieson, Kathy Tyler and others for photos.
Ringside
