Medals for young Oban karatekas
Young athletes from Oban Shotokan Karate Club won 10 medals at one of the largest events on the Scottish karate circuit last weekend.
The World Karate Do Federation Scottish Open Championships were held on Sunday April 30 at the Regional Performance Centre, Dundee.
Amira McKerron and Rhys Neil won individual silver medals and the under 11s boys team rotation placed third. Ava McKerron, Seoras Neil, Sean Craik, Oliver Gillies and Logan Higgins also took home individual bronze medals in the prestigious event.
A total of 402 athletes from Denmark, England, Ireland and Scotland, including national and international champions, performed to their highest ability across all levels in a bid to take Scottish titles.
The committed young athletes from Oban attend twice weekly sessions in the town. They also train monthly as a squad with the Scottish Karate Union in Dundee and at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.
Oban Shotokan Karate Club coach Rab Neil said: “Just being able to compete at this level is a great accomplishment and getting a place on the podium is a rare occurrence for karate athletes at this level as the standard is so high.
“Our squad from Oban made the grade to compete at this event and also made the podium in several categories. I can’t explain how brilliant a feeling it is for a coach to see their athletes performing to a high standard and getting results.
“Witnessing these youngsters doing their best and giving maximum effort in training and performance on the day makes me proud.”
Mr Neil and fellow coach Simon Thomson also took home two Individual Ippon bronze medals and one Sanban bronze medal between them to round off a successful day.
The club’s next event is the Irish Championships on Saturday, before some members represent Scotland at the World Championships in Dundee in July.