KARATE: North West Shotokan Karate Club travelled south recently to compete at the Carlow International Open which took place on the 1st – 2nd October.
This is an annual karate tournament for children, cadets and seniors and always attracts high quality competitors not only from across Ireland and the UK but also from the Continent. With NWSKC Head Coach, Mandy McNulty, as one of the tournament referees, the team of 20 students was ably led by assistant coaches Eathan O’Donnell, Ciara Dullaghan, Elaine Dullaghan and Sloan O’Donnell.
The NWSKC students did not disappoint their coaches and supporters, bringing a fantastic total of 51 medals back to the north-west.
The children’s competition got underway on Saturday morning and the team kata event saw the NWSKC’s first success with Rachel Carlin, Christian O’Brien and Caitlin Sweeney achieving the silver medal position with a strong team performance. Rachel went on to equal this with her performance in the individual kata event, collecting another silver, while Caitlin secured a bronze. Not to be outdone, Oran Doherty achieved the silver medal in his category of the individual kata. The kumite events brought more podium success for the young students as Emma Ellis and Hollie Gallagher battled through to the final in their team kumite to lift the silver medal, while Lucas McColgan also secured a silver medal in his team kumite alongside two members of the kazoku club. In the individual kumite event, Rachel Carlin won her third medal of the day, outfighting her opponents to lift the gold in her category. Caitlin added to her personal tally with another silver medal for kumite while Emma and Hollie each fought effectively through the elimination rounds to achieve bronze medals in their respective individual kumite categories.
All in all it was a successful first day, particularly since some of these students were experiencing Carlow and its tough level of competition for the first time. Zara Thompson, one of the youngest member of the team, impressed her coaches with her performance in both the kata and kumite events, and although finishing outside the medal positions on this occasion, she gained valuable experience for future competitions.
The competition on Sunday saw the more experienced athletes take to the mats in a highly competitive atmosphere. The day got off to a wonderful start as the NWSKC students demonstrated great teamwork across all categories in the team kata events. In the Senior Ladies event, sisters Ciara, Emer and Elaine Dullaghan proved too strong for their rivals and their performance brought them gold medals. This achievement was matched in the Senior Men’s event: Stephen John Carlin alongside brothers Eathan and Sloan O’Donnell also lifted gold with their team kata. In the Cadets category, Rebecca Burke, Lucy Casey and Isobel Walsh did not disappoint and supplied another gold medal-winning performance for the NWSKC with their team kata. The individual kata competitions saw more success for both Rebecca and Stephen John, as each achieved a second gold medal in their respective categories. Emer achieved a silver medal for her individual kata performance, while strong individual performances in their respective categories from James Burke, Lucy and Eathan each added another bronze to the growing tally.
The strong team performances by the NWSKC continued into Sunday afternoon as the kumite competition began. Laura Browne, Ciara Dullaghan and Elaine Dullaghan out-fought all their rivals both in team rotation and team kumite events to achieve double gold medals, an outstanding team performance. Eathan and Sloan O’Donnell enjoyed success in both formats also, fighting through to win silver medals in their category in both team rotation and team kumite. Stephen John Carlin and James Burke also secured silver medal with strong fighting in their category of team kumite. Individual kumite events were fiercely contested and there was plenty for NWSKC students and supporters to cheer. Eathan O’Donnell led by example in his category, securing gold with his kumite skills; Laura Browne was once again impressive on the mats, winning a third gold medal of the afternoon in her individual kumite; in their respective individual kumite events, Stephen John Carlin added a third gold medal to his personal tally, while James Burke collected a second silver medal; Ciara Dullaghan and Isobel Walsh each secured silver in their respective categories of the individual kumite event, while Sloan O’Donnell lifted the bronze medal in both the Sanbon and Ippon kumite contests.
The Carlow International Open competition traditionally includes challenge matches where a team selected to represent the host club takes on an international team in each age category: Carlow versus ‘The Rest of the World.’ On this occasion, three NWSKC students were selected to fight alongside visiting athletes for the ‘Rest of the World’ team: Joshua Thompson fought well and achieved a silver medal in this event; Emma Ellis showed impressive kumite skills to help her team to victory against Carlow; in the Senior event, Elaine Dullaghan fought strongly against her opponent, contributing to the international team’s success against the hosts. There was another unexpected cause for celebration among the NWSKC students as their head coach, Mandy McNulty was awarded ‘Referee of the Day’, an honour which acknowledged her impartiality and excellence in adjudication throughout the tournament.
The kumite events of Sunday afternoon brought to an end another successful day for the club. The final medal tally was an impressive 23 gold, 20 silver and 8 bronze medals, a total of 51 medals brought home to the north-west. As always, however, the medal tally tells only part of the story and all the NWSKC students competed well, gained valuable competition experience and brought great credit to the club with their attitude and conduct. Head Coach Sensei McNulty congratulated all the students who competed and thanked all the club supporters who made the journey to Carlow.
