Wednesday 19th October was an early 2am start for all students from Region 7. As we arrived & parked at Gatwick airport we were joined on the shuttle bus by some of region 1''s members. After a smooth check in Master Nicholls, the rest of region 1 & 7 made their way to board the plane. A short flight later we had arrived in Naples, checked into our hotel & were doing the usual exploration of the local area. A few hours later with some essential supplies in hand we settled into our rooms, & prepared for an England team evening meal.

Thursday morning saw the day that most of the team had been waiting for for many months the weigh in!!! After all the team made their weight with relative ease everyone could relax & look forward to running through some team patterns & eating a good meal. Some of the region''s members joined the rest of the England team on a trip into Naples to see the sights! Then coaches Miss Burridge & Mr Buxton joined the other coaches & made their way to the Tennis hotel for the coaches & umpires meeting. When happy with the draws & rules all the coaches made their way back through the thunder & lightning to their hotels to bed ready for the first day of competition.

Friday saw region 7 students Billy Smith, Rebecca Dearlove, Nicola Barke, Vaughan Buxton & Kerry Burridge through to finals on Sunday. 

Saturday Reece Nicholls joined the region by making it to the finals in sparring on Sunday, along with the junior boys & adult male team making it to the finals of patterns & sparring on Sunday. Sunday was going to be a very busy day!

Final''s day produced 4 gold''s & 3 silvers in individual events & 10 gold’s, 3 silvers & 1 bronze in Team events. All members excluding Miss Burridge were part of the teams. The ladies & men were also crowned overall team champions. The whole event was capped off by England receiving best overall country.

The championship was a massive success for region 7 & UK ITF. The team was a credit to the coaches. We look forward with anticipation & excitement to the World Championships next year. 

Thanks go to all the supporters in particular John Smith from Region 7.

A massive thanks to Master Nicholls for giving us the opportunity to compete at international level.

Full region results below;

Vaughan Buxton 5th Degree Adult Male

Gold patterns

Gold team sparring

Adult Male coach

Kerry Burridge 5th Degree Adult Female

Gold patterns

Adult Female coach

Reece Nicholls 3rd Degree Adult Male

Bronze patterns

Gold sparring

Gold team sparring

Gold team patterns

Bronze team special technique

Best overall male team

Rebecca Dearlove 3rd Degree Adult Female

Bronze patterns

Silver sparring

Gold team sparring

Gold team patterns

Gold team power

Best overall female team

 

Billy Smith 2nd Degree Junior Male

Gold patterns

Silver sparring

Silver team sparring

Gold team patterns

Silver team special technique

Silver team power

Nicola Barke 1st Degree Adult Female

Silver sparring

Gold team sparring

Gold team patterns

Gold team special technique

Best overall female team