DCU Karate Club won 11 medals, including two gold medals, in an impressive performance at the second annual Dublin Inter-Collegiate Cup 2013.
Six competitors from DCU took part in the AIB-sponsored contest in UCD Sports Complex. Students from UCD, DCU, Trinity College, RSCI, Griffith College and Dublin Institute of Technology also took part in the contest.
The competition was divided into Kumite or sparring and Kata, which is a set of movements.
Avril Jatariu won two gold medals for placing first in both Kumite and Kata. Martin Kenny came second in Kata and Kumite.
Austin Fanning reached joint third in Kumite. Hannah Bechara placed third in Kata and Kumite. Bechara, Jatariu and Fanning joined up for team Kata and finished in third place. In the brown to black belt division Kumite, Rick Ozawa also notched up a third place finish.
DCU Karate Club 4th Dan Instructors Neville Reilly and Fran Meggs, who are also JKA qualified referees, assisted UCD with the event.
Sensei Reilly gave his reaction to the performance of DCU’s competitors: “Our DCU KC team put in a great display and took home 11 medals in both Kata and Kumite, which makes all of the DCU instruction team very proud.
“We’re developing a well-rounded team of karate competitors and the prospects are looking good for the Intervarsities in February once we keep up the training programme.”
Fanning, Treasurer of DCU Karate Club, commented on the team’s performance: “The whole team was really enthusiastic about the contest. We were prepared for whatever we had to face.”
P.R.O of DCU Karate Club and competitor Bechara praised the UCD Karate Club event: “It was really well organised. The fact that it was so relaxed made it easy to forget it was a competition and just have fun, meet some really talented competitors and learn a whole lot from them.”
The competition followed JKA rules and was in the style of Shotokan Karate. TCD won the overall competition and received a trophy courtesy of sponsors AIB.
Martina Brophy
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