Event Report
One opportunity personally on the day was the luxury of a little bit of time to watch an entire event division running. It had the usual excitement with close bouts, great techniques, hard fought competition, however what really shone through was the respect, happiness, and sportsmanship. The male open 10-11 continuous had a bunch of boys congratulated each other, happy for the success of the victor, but it was more than that. It was like they were all mates enjoying the time were spending together, different schools but one common purpose. It really reminded me of the importance and meaning of the tournament.
Our day began with competitor arrival and quick registration, everyone familiar now with the system. Once all competitors had arrived our NAS president and CEO Mr James Casey opened the tournament welcoming all our competitors and thanking all referees, officials, volunteers, parents for their continual support for the NAS.
To begin the competition for the day several of our black belt adult divisions were held. Once again, each division had many competitors and technique was on point. Veterans Forms saw Nik Kourtessis – Fighting Spirit Goju Karate place 1st, Simon Pedelty – Li-Kris-Han Kung Fu 2nd and Nick Spanu, 3rd. Female Black Belt Forms saw Voephong Roczniak – GKR 1st, Jillian Cole – Funakoshi 2nd, and Tayla Harley – The Winged Dragon, 3rd. The Male Black Belt Forms saw Boshi Lui – HH Kung Fu 1st, Nik Kourtessis – Fighting Spirit Goju Karate 2nd, Soon Teo, Karyukai 3rd. Point sparring in both the female and male black belt was exciting with the men’s seeing Zac Cittadini – Zac’s MA 1st, Eduardo Novembre – Proactive Team Freestyle 2nd, and Nick Spanu – GKR 3rd. The female event saw Holly Francis – Aerostrike in 1st, Voephong Roczniak – GKR 2nd, and Jillian Cole – Funakoshi in 3rd. I was also informed for the first time ever Kendra Schmid and Tayla Harley finally got to face off after years of competition, but always just in different age groups.
Synchronised Team Forms Adult division saw, 1st place Team Natsuko Mineghishi – Karyukai, 2nd was Team Danica Klasic – Winged Dragon M/A, Team Jill Cole – Funakoshi, finished 3rd.
Traditional Weaponry 0-12 Years saw Bevan Washington – Shiryado in 1st, and Zhey Perry-Pivac – UMA, take 2nd place. In the 13-17 year division, William Clarke – Sansho-Kan Karate finished 1st, while in the adult division Boshi Lui – HH Kung Fu finished 1st, Xuanwen Deng - HH Kung Fu 2nd, and Adam Sultana – Katai Bushi Ryu 3rd. In the Creative Weapons Extreme 0-12 Years division Erik Ihle – Impact Martial Arts finished 1st.
Once again, all our junior competitors were amazing, showing a continual improvement of skill and technique throughout the year, evident during the event.
The Pee Wee forms saw Veer Goodluck – Fighting Spirit Goju 1st, and Julian Zhu - GKR 2nd, and Ethan Arifoski – Winged Dragon M/A 3rd. In their Point Sparring event saw a trifecta win to MACE Academy with Hugo Japriady taking home 1st place, Noah Ismail in 2nd and Maguel Almonicar in 3rd place. The Continuous Sparring Division, Aleksandar Naumovski – Lion Karate Academy placed 1st, Georgia Hasthorpe – Katai Bushi Ryu 2nd, and Lauren Trajanovski – Winged Dragon M/A in 3rd.
Our 8-9 Years (10th – 6th Kyu) M/F Forms event saw Luka Naumovski – Lion Karate finish 1st, Owen Arifoski – Winged Dragon M/A 2nd, Jobe Fantone – Northern Goju Karate 3rd. Forms 10-11 (10th Kyu – 6th Kyu) had Tadym Borserio – Bendigo Kenpo Karate in 1st place, Jamie Nackoski – Lions Karate Academy 2nd, and Aston Porteous – Sansho-Kan Karate 3rd.
Some junior point sparring event including Point Sparring 8-9 Years (5th Kyu – Black Belt) saw Andric Liu – M.A.C.E 1st, Robert Preston – M.A.C.E 2nd and Bevan Washington – Shiryado in 3rd place. Point Sparring 10-11 Years (5th Kyu – Blackbelt) saw a clean sweep by M.A.C.E – Erik Szoke 1st, Ellie Richmond 2nd, and Dev Anenthan 3rd. Our Male Point Sparring 12-13 Years (10TH – 6TH Kyu) saw Lucca Rossignuolo – M.A.C.E finish 1st, Percy Winfred-Wornes – Aerostrike 2nd, and Noah Kerrigan – Border Karate School 3rd.
Our adult divisions saw most of the competitors throughout the year attend the States increasing the numbers in the events. The Male Novice Point Sparring saw Carmelo Zara – Winged Dragon M/A finish 1st, Hossein Ammeri – Winged Dragon M/A 2nd and Mark Cole – Funakoshi place 3rd. The Female Advanced Continuous sparring (5th Kyu – Black Belt) had Tayla Harley – Winged Dragon M/A place 1st, Jillian Cole – Funakoshi in 2nd and Kendra Schmid – Shiryado 3rd.
All in all the State Championships was an amazing day, Thank you to all competitors and family for supporting NAS Victoria throughout 2022. We understand the time and dedication that everyone puts into being available for each event, it never goes unnoticed.
Thanks again to everyone that plays a role in making our NAS tournaments a success in Victoria. A special mention to Darren Ball for providing First Aid on the day, Sandra Schmid for overseeing all table officials, our referees and judges, every competitor and their families, all head instructors and school owners for continuing to bring your students to compete.
Vincent Busuttil.
State Director.
Results
Points
Photos
