By Ron Lane
To be named the best club in Queensland in your chosen sport is indeed something to be proud of. However to do so for four consecutive years is incredible; and this is, indeed what happened to the Sunshine Coast Martial Arts Club.
This came about as a result of their performance at the recent 2019 Queensland Karate State Championships. For these titles the club entered a team of 28 competitors of all ages (children through to veterans) to compete against the best the 18 other clubs in the state had to offer. Competing over two day the events consisted of Kumite (sparring) and Kata (form) and the completion of the tournament saw the team came home with a total of 28 gold,10 silver and 7 bronze.
These results saw the club awarded the Best and Fairest Club Shield by the Queensland Karate Association for the 4th consecutive year. Speaking on behalf of Chief Sensei Bryan Dukas, absent because of family commitments, Sensei Rick Hislop said, “We could not be prouder of our students; their attitude to training and commitment to the ethics of karate (sportsmanship and good manners) has paid dividends’ would also like to thank the parents and careers for their support of the young students; their attendance at training and also away at tournaments helps to create a full on family environment. A major contribution to the success of our club.”
The next major tournament will be the Open Australian Championships to be held in Sydney this weekend; and also at the same time students will contest the Australian Schools Karate Championships. Because of the distance and cost the club will be sending a much smaller team; and we wish them well.
