For the third year in a row University of Nottingham Karate club won the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Karate Championships with a record medal haul, and also broke the record for the most BUCS points scored with 143. The 2023 championships lasted two days at the Allam Sports Centre in Hull, and the club dominated, winning a total of 16 senior medals across 15 senior events, which combined with 6 novice medals saw Nottingham top the overall medal table ahead of second placed Birmingham, and third placed Loughborough.
First up on the Saturday would be the Team Kata event, with Aron Traves, James Harrison and Dylan Traves representing Nottingham. Nottingham has won this event 4 years running, and this was no exception. The 2022 European Universities Games bronze medallists didn’t drop a single point in any round and they remained perfect in a spotlight final, closing the curtain on Edinburgh with a dynamic bunkai routine showcasing their ability. In the individual Male Kata, Nottingham had 3 entries with Oliver Wycherley being joined by sports scholars Dylan Traves and James Harrison. The first medal of this event was secured by Oliver Wycherley whose performance earned him a bronze medal in a stunning performance against his opponent from Bath. Meanwhile previous BUCS winners James Harrison and Dylan Traves both topped their respective pools to make it an all-Nottingham final for the second year running. In the end James took gold and Dylan silver securing a first-second-third place Nottingham Podium in Male Kata for the second consecutive year. Senior female kata saw another all-Nottingham final with sports scholars Jordanna Williams and Jessica Maitland taking control and topping their respective pools beating tough opponents from Loughborough and Glasgow. In a close final Jordanna came out on top with Jessica taking silver. Their final brought yet another dominant performance by Nottingham of BUCS Kata events to a close.
Next, it was the turn of the female fighters in the Women Team Kumite event. Georgia Bambridge, Eimisa Ishizuka, Amy Alexander and Emma Amselem stepped on to the mat to represent the green and gold. The girls got off to a flying start with a victory over Newcastle but were stopped by eventual finalists Northumbria in a close match. With the girls back in repechage, Nottingham defeated Birmingham to fight Durham for bronze. In the first match Georgia pulled out a stunning 8-0 victory before Durham pulled one back. With the match at 1-1, it was left to Eimisa who pulled out another fantastic 8-0 to take bronze for Nottingham. The final category of the day was the blue riband event of male team kumite. The team consisted of 7 men with 5 fighters and two reserves against each opponent. The team of Dylan Traves, Eoin Purcell, Waleed Alnoumas, William Huke, Nathan Preece, Liyoung Magar, and Toby Kidd got off to a phenomenal start. The best-of-five format saw Nottingham finish Durham, Glasgow and the semi-final against Bath with 3-0 wins, setting up the team for a final against a strong Birmingham team under the spotlights.
Kicking off the final was Dylan Traves, who dominated the opening bout 8-0. This was followed by the tactics and gamesmanship of Eoin Purcell, who won a 2-1 victory, giving the team a 2-bout lead. Next was Waleed Alnoumas who lost a close fight against Birmingham’s strongest fighter, bringing the match to 2-1. Winning the fourth match would secure the gold for Nottingham, and tasked with this was William Huke. Ten seconds down Will was losing 3-2, but he rallied against the pressure to score at the death, winning the bout. This secured Nottingham’s first title in Male Team Kumite in over 40 years, finishing an insurmountable performance by the team who scored over 100 points and conceded just 7 throughout the entire day.
Sunday morning’s senior section kicked off with both bronzes taken by the green and gold in female -50 kg: Aisha Hussain on one half of the draw and Anshu Firake on the other. Aisha came up through the repechage beating opponents from Nottingham Trent, and UEA to take her medal. Anshu matched this achievement by beating Strathclyde and UWE in a strong performance to bring home the other. In -55kg Nottingham's Hong Kong international Eimisa Ishizuka continued her winning form from team kumite to her individual category. In the first round she beat a strong opponent from Portsmouth going onto win her semi-final and earn her place in the final. She faced a tough opponent and fellow Hong Kong international representing Loughborough who won gold, but Eimisa fought valiantly bringing home silver in her first BUCS outing for the club.
Georgia Bambridge beat her first two opponents in the -68kg division with ease but came up against and lost to a Scottish national team opponent from Edinburgh in the semi-final. This secured her place in the bronze medal match facing the winner of the repechage. Georgia controlled the match and took home a well-deserved bronze. Georgia was a novice last year, fighting in a tough senior division and coming out with a bronze in her second ever BUCS was a huge achievement. The first male kumite category of the day was -60kg where club veteran Jas Mehat represented the #GreenandGold. Jas started off the day strong with victory in his first two fights and confidently shut out his semi-final opponent from Birmingham to secure a place in the final. Jas earnt a rematch against a three-time BUCS champion from Sheffield who he had fought previously in the 2020 final, and again took home the silver. Jas is another example of an athlete who joined the club as a novice having medal success at senior level.
In the -75kg male kumite Kuwaiti International and sport scholar Waleed Alnoumas overcame Bath in his first round scoring some fantastic points. In the next round he missed out in a tightly fought bout against the defending -75 kg BUCS champion from Birmingham. This placed him in the repechage where, undeterred, he put together a clinical performance to bring home the bronze against his final opponent from Loughborough. In the -84kg William Huke beat multiple opponents in a large category to face Edinburgh in the semi-final. Here he kept his cool to secure his place in Nottingham’s third final of the day, once against facing another opponent from Edinburgh. Despite Will’s excellent performance and a closely fought final he brought home the silver. A courageous effort in a promising first BUCS outing for the club. In the final event of the day Jason Lam represented the green and gold in the +84kg category. Jason initially lost a tough match against the finalist Cardiff but in the repechage put in a fantastic performance to get into the bronze medal match. In the bronze medal match he used his punching to secure bronze in one of the biggest categories of the day.
Overall, the University of Nottingham won four gold medals in the Mixed Team Kata (Aron Traves, Dylan Traves, & James Harrison), Female Kata (Jordanna Williams), Male Kata (James Harrison) and Male Team Kumite (Dylan Traves, Eoin Purcell, Waleed Alnoumas William Huke, Liyoung Magar, Nathan Preece, Toby Kidd), whilst also adding five silvers and seven bronze medals. Reflecting on the success, club President and Sports Scholar Dylan Traves said "The success at this year’s championships is a direct result of club’s training culture, something that has been achieved through years of careful planning and progress. Each individual squad member has put in huge amounts of effort in training, encouraged by all of our coaches who are led by Head Coach Sonny Roberts. This makes the club feel like a family, we all support each other and that is absolutely fundamental in our approach to competition."
As well as a reputation for academic excellence, we have a history of sporting success and are passionate about supporting promising athletes during their time at the University of Nottingham. To find out more about our Performance Karate programme, please click here. For more on our Sports Scholarships, please click here.
Posted on Thursday 6th April 2023