Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Bahamian martial artists bring home seven trophies By SPORTS WRITER ~ The Nassau Guardian: A Bahamian delegation from the 'Society of Shotokan Stylists' participated, placed and brought home seven trophies and three medals in the U.S. Open World Martial Arts Championship, held in Orlando, Florida on July 3 and 4. The delegation, headed by Master Brian Beckford and Sensei Julian Rolle, consisted of team members Rudell Capron, Shawn 'Vicious' Smith, Desmond 'K-9' Pinder, Quon 'Quarter' White and Zoltan Riley. Assisting with the co-ordination were Ginea Wilson and Juju Foti. Rudell 'Rude Awakening' Capron won a third place trophy in the Women Beginners (Self Defense) and secured two medals in the Ladies Beginners (Fighting/Kumite and Forms/Kata). Desmond 'K-9' Pinder won a second place trophy in the Men Beginners (Point Fighting/Kumite) and placed fourth in the Grappling (Men's Novice – Gi Division). Shawn 'Vicious' Smith came home with two first place and two second place finishes. He secured a first place trophy in the Men Beginners (Traditional Forms/Kata), and a first place trophy in the Men Beginners (Point Fighting/Kumite). He also brought home a second place trophy in the Men Beginners and in the Intermediate Combined (Weapons Kata), and another second place trophy in the Men Beginners and Intermediates Combined (Self Defense). Quon 'Quarter' White brought home a fourth place trophy in the Men Intermediate (Point Fighting/Kumite), and Zoltan Riley secured a medal in the seven years and under Beginners (Forms/Kata). At the two-day tournament held on-site at the Coronado Springs Resort in Disney World, 37 countries from around the world competed. Thousands of spectators and participants gathered in over 30 rings to participate or watch the competitions. Divisions included weapons, point fighting, continuous fighting, forms, grappling, musical forms and extreme forms with participant categories ranging from Novice to Class 'A' Black Belts. Participants and teams came from all around the world including the following, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa from the African continent; Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and the United States from the Americas region; Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the Caribbean region; Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and Ukraine from the European region; and other teams from Australia, New Zealand, Syria and Vietnam. The Bahamian team members extends gratitude to their families, supporters and sponsors, in particular special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Vazquez of Lyford Cay, Craig Thompson, Keith Rolle and Sonic Express, Shoe Fever, Tierra's Collections and Tropical Brokerage for their support and sponsorship. Wednesday, July 8, 2009