BAA Junior National Championships 2018

 

The BAA UK Junior National Championships in Leeds-Bradford has become an important fixture on our junior competition calendar and after two months of hard preparation we were back in the UK to share a new adventure, defend titles, build on the achievements of last year and have a lot of fun. 

Sixteen excited members of our Junior and Youth team led by their captain Darragh and supported by our coaches,  parents and guardians, travelled to England. In our young team of inspiring players we had some members attending their first competition and they, guided by the old hands won many hearts with their courage, fun-loving outlook and good behaviour on and off the mat.

As is usual at these events all club coaches attending are expected to take up roles as referees and officials on the day, but there was still adequate time available to mentor, encourage and support our young players along the way and to provide reassurance and motivation when needed.

What a day we had,  retaining important UK National titles in Kata and Tai-Sabaki, winning some new UK National titles and gathering an impressive haul of medals to secure overall 2nd place on team points and our best ever performance at this event. 

 

Thank You Parents/Guardians

It's an exciting time for all players, but we could never compete at these events without the comittment and support of our younger member's dedicated parents and guardians willing to travel and support their players at these BAA events.  It's no small commitment and contributes enormously to the development of our club and it's members enjoyment and progression. Special mention to Michał Romański on this tour for being the official DTA photographer and providing us with some great memories from the day to look back on and have archived for the future. 

 

To all Club Coaches, Club Assistants and Garrett Baxter - BAA Youth Development Officer - Sincere thank you.

In case it is not understood, these BAA events are entirely organised and run by volunteers who are largely taken for granted. The enthuasism, support, genuine interest and passion by these volunteers set the stage for the players to enjoy a competitive experience to a very high standard. No event can be expected to run without a few hicups and errors can occur but the genuine ethos of fair-play, fun and putting players first, makes these events hugely worthwhile and important for clubs to attend. In the background there is the preparation and setup including the responsibility for delivery on the day. It's easy for players and coaches to arrive with the stage all set and mats down, but someone has had to pull it all together, cordinate and resolve issues on the day and still retain a sense of humour. That person was Mr. Garrett Baxter who we greatly appreciate. 

Garrett Baxter, 5th Dan, is Youth Development Officer for the BAA and Chief Instructor of Bradford Tomiki Aikido club.