A good mix of experienced fighters & novices were representing Camberley in the South of England Open (Grade & Age Banded) held at the K2 in Crawley this weekend. Star of the show was Toby Roberts (U50kg / U16yrs Orange & Green belts). This was the first time for Toby in the U50kgs category and he was dwarfed by a couple of his opponents. However looks can be deceiving and hard work in the gym seems to be paying off for Toby who was by no means out-muscled and his speed and technique saw him overcome some tricky competitors en-route to the Gold medal. Also competing with the higher grades and putting in solid performances were Ben Baxter (U46kgs / U12yrs – Bronze), Bethany Kingston (U57kgs /U16yrs –Bronze), Oliver Baldwin (U46kgs / U16yrs – 5thPlace) and Ewan Tweedie (U55kgs /U16yrs). A special mention goes to Ben Baxter who claims not to remember ever having been defeated in Golden score (not verified!) and chalked up another win in over-time at this competition. The coaches will be keeping a close eye on this statistic over the coming months!
There were also some impressive performances in the Red & Yellow belt Category. Mixed fortunes for our U34kgs boys, with Tom Kirk securing a hard earned Bronze with one of the best throws of the day and Louie Baylis narrowly losing out in two hard fought contest to leave empty handed on this occasion. Pheonix Govey Gray (Silver) won the battle of the Camberley Girls in the U44kgs against Sophie Dickson (Bronze), whilst Sophie showed real determination in taking the Gold medalist all the way only to lose by a minor score. Ellie Kirby (U36kgs) completely disregarded advice from her coach not to rush into her first fight and threw her unsuspecting foe for Ippon inside 10 seconds! Unfortunately she found herself in a tough pool which included a Surrey Squad player and was unable to progress further. Our two Red belt boys Kieran Hall and Jason Dickson were also pitted against much more experienced opponents and gave a good showing of themselves.
Well done to everyone.
