8 members of the Isle of Wight Tae Kwon-Do club took part in the PUMA English Tae Kwon-Do Championships in Swindon on Sunday (3rd July), bringing home 2 silver and 6 bronze trophies.
Charlie Holland was the first to compete on the day in the junior patterns division. He was in a large category and performed with focus and confidence. Unfortunately, he came up against the eventual finalist and did not come away with a trophy but was awarded a participation medal. He then went on to compete in the sparring division but again was drawn against a tricky opponent.
Bethany Morrison made her debut at her first major tournament and in the girl’s Black Belt division she came up against a lot of older and higher ranked girls. However, she competed with real purpose and made the club proud of how confident she was and how well she performed.
After the junior members had competed there was a long wait until the rest of the team’s categories started and then all of a sudden it was Isle of Wight action on nearly every ring in the arena.
Jon Page just missed out on a medal in his patterns division but fought well in sparring and won the bronze trophy, only missing out by a couple of points from being in the final.
George Metcalf competed at his first tournament and narrowly lost out to a more experienced fighter so he did not get into the final but still came away with a bronze.
The last events of the day saw the adult Black Belts competing, with Joe Ramskill winning bronze in both the patterns and sparring categories. Angus Tapp fought excellently in his division and only just missed out on gold in the final. His footwork and speed nearly overcame his much heavier opponent but had to settle for silver position in the end.
In the senior Black Belt pattern categories, Kerry Scotcher won a bronze in a vastly experienced group of seasoned tournament competitors.
Finally, in the men’s 4th degree black belt and above group, Peter Scotcher won silver just missing out on the top spot against a highly respected 5th degree black belt.
Overall the team performed well and carried the club spirit and support throughout the day. They are now preparing for the upcoming Isle of Wight Tournament and the British Championships later in the year.
The club always welcomes new members, whether they are experienced or complete beginners and more details can be found on the website at www.iowtkd.com.
