  MAY 1997 ISSUE  North Island ChampionshipsTournament ResultsNewest Clubs and InstructorsTraining Trip to KoreaTRAVEL FOR
LESS The Championships were promoted by the Taekwondo Union of New Zealand and hosted by the New Plymouth Taekwondo Club. The Tournament was held over two days, with two competition rings and held under WTF full contact competition rules. The Championships attracted 273 competitors from four different Taekwondo styles, the competition included sparring, smashing and patterns. New Plymouth turned on a brilliant autumn weekend, which in turn set the stage for a brilliant weekend of Taekwondo. The Tournament opened with some good intense Blackbel fights, for some of the competitors this was their first fight for the year and it did not take long for the action to heat up. David Aldridge (WWMC) moved to the Lightweight division and fought well enough to make the final and come up against a much improved Glen Robinson (Karori) in a close and even fight with David not only winning but further enhancing his reputation as one of New Zealand's best competition fighters. The New Zealand Championships will be interesting with overseas competitors and young Shane Phillpott (Christchurch) waiting in the wings to topple "KING DAVID". James Webb (New Plymouth) is another young up and coming fighter who will not only be competitive by will get even better with experience and overseas competition in the Welterweight division. Richard Lister (New Plymouth) performed well to win the Middleweight division from a much improved Tim Panaho (Matamata) and Jay Rei (Patea). The Middleweight division is going to be a keenly contested division at the New Zealand Championships with talent at every turn helping to improve the overall standard of Taekwondo in New Zealand. Martin Cass (Karori) performed well in the Heavyweight division but did not have it all his own way with a spirited challenge from Jay Rei (Patea), who stepped up a grade to give Martin a good workout, in a close and very skillful display of fast, hard hitting, action packed bout. Martin won the bout and will be working hard in the next few months to be in top shape for the New Zealand Championships. Others to impress in the Blackbelt divisions were Jason Hellens (Mt. Putauaki), Mack Edwards (Lake Rotoma), Murray Burgess(Ashurst) and Mark Osmond (Matamata) in the veterans Heavyweight division. Stefini Burling-Claridge (Waverley) showed that she is a player to note in the future if she continues to improve, a lack of fitness was masked by some excellent techniques and good timing. With some overseas experience she will not only improve but will gain the confidence she needs to step up a level. Outstanding yet again was Jessica Parkin (Hutt City) who is very competitive and determined and continues to build on her past performances. Others to perform well included Emma Humphries (Karori), Stacey Whitmore (New Plymouth), Belinda Hansen (Hutt City) and Demelza Harris (New Plymouth) who dominated against Keriana Kahu (Waverley). The Boys division were equally represented with good performances from Kayne Fenech (TCMA), Darren Baucke (Wesley College), Edwin Lee (Pukekohe), Zak Walters (Titahi Bay) and Anaru Hurunui (TCMA). The Smashing competition involved smashing roof tiles with a downward punch. Tim Newport (Hawera) won the Boys division, Jamie Veale (Ashhurst) won the Women's division and Greg Reeve (Hawera) won the Men's division. Not to be outdone, some of New Zealand's most promising young female Blackbelts showed some excellent skills and good build up for the next tournament. Sonia Whitmore (New Plymouth) continues to dominate her grade with solid performances and she will continue to improve with the competition behind her also improving and pushing her even harder. Janell Broughton (Waverley) builds on every performance and did well against some spirited competition in the form of Sara Ten Have (Karori) and Awhina Nuku (Welcome Bay). The Women's Welterweight division was a keenly contested division and saw an excellent final between Kristal Kingi (Lake Rotoma) and Kylie Cusin (Rimutaka ITF). The action was fast and furious with Kylie dominating in the second and third rounds to win in a very close decision. The Colour belt divisions hold a wealth of up and coming talent with Kaporangi Whana (Manaaia) showing some excellent technique and pure determination to win against a taller and older opponent, with coaching and more experience Kaporangi will not only improve but will be very competitive once he steps up the Blackbelt divisions. Philip Elliot (Mt. Putauaki) giving away at least a foot (30cm) in height fought well to win against Emmanuel Marat (Wesley College) both competitors have improved and will continue to make an impact in the Blue belt divisions with more preparation. Adam Nikolojenko (Pukekohe) toughed it out in the Yellow belt Middleweight division with two hard fought bouts to fly the flag for the Auclanders, his success might encourage others to compete. The Pattern competition was well contested with 32 Colour Belt competitors performing well to try and win a North Island title. Shannon Doflou (Tawa) narrowly won the under blue belt division after a very tense play off with Toria Adamson (Hawera) coming a very credible second. The over Blue Belt division was equally well contested with three rounrds needed to find the eventual winner in Sarah Ward (Karori) with Samantha Hayes (Mt. Putauaki) narrowly pushing Damian Carmine (Hawera) into third place. The Black Belt division was the division witht eh most improvement with strong performances from Sean Freeman (Ashhurst) who narrowly won from Greg O'Brien (Hutt City) and Kylie Cusin (Rimutaka ITF). The top club award went to New Plymouth who just beat the Karori and Waverley Clubs for the award. Overall the tournament ran smoothly and was relaxed and saw different Taekwondo Organisations competing in the true spirit of Taekwondo. The North Island Taekwondo Championships are growing each year and continues to attract the best Taekwondo practitioners from the the North Island. Special thanks must go to Mike Hannah who organised the tournament and officiated as Tournament Director, also to Irene Hanna and Jim and Daphne Whitmore for their input throughout the weekend. Thanks also to
the numerous helpers who made the tournament a huge
success both during the weekend and the weeks leading up
to the tournament. Announcing the Union's Newest Clubs
and Instructors: Training
Trip to Korea
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