Wado-UK Presentation Evening 2011

On Friday 9th December 2011, around 170 of the Wado-UK membership and their families met at the Hull University for their end of year presentation evening. The John McCarthy suite being chosen as the venue for the function for the fourth year running. The presentation started with a brief overview of the years activities and successes and also highlighted many of the activities we have been involved in this year.

New for 2011 was the addition of an award sponsored by Paul Braid and his Shinken Dojo, which is called the Emily Pierce Memorial Shield. The purpose of this award was to preserve the memory of Emily, who lost her battle against cancer on November 19th 2010.

The criteria for this shield was to reward someone for their continued commitment to Karate training against a back-drop of adversity. Perhaps illness or injury has made regular attendance difficult, or maybe circumstance itself has served to make training difficult. A decision was also taken to award the shield to a female, to more acurately reflect Emily.

This was in fact the first association award presented for 2011 and there were two nominees for this year. Demi Johnson and Katherine Rowland-Hill were those nominated, with Katherine being voted the winner.

Katharine is pictured below with Paul Braid and Joe Pierce, Emily's mum

The next award of the evening was the Association Service Award. Nominations this year for the award were as follows;

Barry Meanwell for his outstanding efforts with and for the association squad
Gaynor Dent for her didication and assistance with all events run by Wado UK
George Campbell for his assistance and guidance on all matters regarding grant funding
Allison Munro for her ceaseless efforts and un-ending imagination regarding fundraising

For 2011 the winner was George Campbell, seen below being presented with his award by Wado UK President Mr. John Moreton.

The next award of the evening was the Association High Level Achievement Award. Nominations this year for the award were as follows;

Barry Meanwell for his selection to the England Squad at the European Championships in Zurich Switzerland.
Jessica Newton for her selection to the England Squad at an invitational competition in Turkey and her subsequent selection for the European Junior Championships in Azerbaijan in February 2012.

For 2011 the winner was Jessica Newton, seen below being presented with her award by Wado UK President Mr. John Moreton.

The c lub awards were the order of the day to begin the evenings presentations however. These are traditionaly awarded by the relevant club instructors and as each award was read out the recipients arrived at the front to receive an impressive samurai figure on a plinth.

The first club award is the Achievement award. It can be awarded for for anything from success to outstanding enthusiasm, dedication to determination.
The winners for 2011 were;

Back row Gary Stevenson
Front row Jon Chia, Jed Jemison, Amrit Dhesi and Brandon Greenwood

The second club award is the service award. It is awarded for help with running the club or assistance in the development of any aspect of the club.
The winners for 2011 were;

Mike Pendergast, Shirley Braid, Callum Longmuir, Marissa Dunn and Joe Munro

The third club award is the Kata award. It is awarded for success, enthusiasm or ability in relation to Kata practice.
The winners for 2011 were;

Ellie Hayes, Lauren Foster, Issabelle Johnson, Ellis Miller and Charlotte Pinder

The fourth and final club award is the Kumite award. It is awarded for success, enthusiasm or ability in relation to Kumite practice.
The winners for 2011 were;

Joe Rose, Lauren Horner, Sam Killelay, Thomas Fitz-John and Oliver Dearing