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 Noale, Venice was the venue once again for this years Venice Cup held a couple of weeks earlier than last year on 2-3rd December 2006. Alex and Aimee Sell from Shuhari-Kai Karate Club both made the trip this year.
This was Alex's third time here, both times previously as part of the Southern Regional squad, this year there was no Regional squad and not much of a Governing Body left either as it goes. This was Aimee's first visit here now being 11 years old and allowed to compete where
previously she had been too young and she was keen to make her mark. Alex too was keen to keep his phenomenal streak going in Venice having won his individual Kumite events the previous two years and gaining a silver in Kata last year. Alex also gained gold in team Kumite last
year as part of the Southern Regional squad who topped the overall medal table, but as said before - no squad this time. What a difference a year makes. Even though there were less competitors from England this year, at least from the old Southern Regional squad with Alex
and Aimee probably being the only possible representatives, there were more competitors with 1335 registered from 23 countries.
The competition started in earnest on Saturday morning with the Team Kumite events starting off the proceedings. Alex had teamed up this year with EKKA's Ryan Jay and they were joined by Danny from AMA. Competing in the Boys 13-14yrs
Mini-Cadets category, they received a 1st round bye. In the 2nd round, Alex went out first for the team. It must be pointed out at this stage that the rules for the mini-cadets and below not WKF rules but Italian Alpine rules where techniques were limited to only five -
Chudan Gyakuzuki, Chudan Mawashigeri (no back contact), Jodan Mawash and Ura-Mawashigeri and Uraken. Hmmm, at least Alex was used to the set of rules having competed under them previously. Oh and another thing, each match was a full 2 minutes. Plenty of time under WKF rules to
score points but plently of time to rack up warning under the Italian Alpine rules.
Anyway, Alex started well winning his opening round match 7-2. Alex gave away a couple of points being penalised for excessive contact but some of competitors in the team event were small and lightweight and seemed to go down quicker than
a lead balloon. Ryan Jay went next for the team as the 2nd fighter and beat his opponent 2-0 securing the teams progress into the semi-finals. The semi-final once again saw Alex go out first for the team, this time he was up against a small opponent. Alex dominated the fight
winning comfortably but inevitably he was finally disqualified just before the end due to contact warnings. Up next for the team went Danny. Danny fought well taking the early points but his opponent caught up and Danny was being penalised for contact eventually giving away
points and losing the match 6-3. With a 2-0 loss, the team were automatically entered into the repechage final and determined not to come away empty handed. Alex went out first once again for the team and controlled his power better securing a 6-1 win to put the team into a
strong position. Ryan fought as the second fighter and made no mistakes as he secured victory for the team with a 7-0 win giving the team third spot overall. Well done boys.
Following the team events, the Technical Ball Games category got underway. Aimee Sell entered the Mixed Novices 11-12yrs event and gave it a good go. She didn't progress past the 1st round after not really knowing what the judges
were looking for - technique, speed or quantity. Nevertheless she was pleased she was able to participate in something different.
Eventually the Kata events commenced following the Pairs event (that's another strange one), and Aimee was up first competing in the Girls 11-12yrs category. Under the Italian Alpine rules, both Kata competitors compete
simultaneously on the same mat, one slight left of centre, one slightly right. Typical Aimee was drawn 1st and didn't have the benefit of seeing any other competitors perform to this method first. Aimee and her opponent were both a little hesitant initially but once lined up
correctly they got going. Aimee performed Bassai-Dai and won her round 3 flags to 0. The 2nd round saw Aimee perform Seienchin whilst her opponent performed Bassai-Dai but once again Aimee won the round 3-0. The 3rd round saw Aimee perform Seipai and once again a 3-0 win saw
progress into the next round. It has to be said that the competitors in this event were allowed to repeat their Katas in each round but Aimee believes all her Katas should be strong and elected not to repeat as per usual. The semi-final saw Aimee up against a strong Bulgarian
girl and Aimee performed Nipaipo. Aimee didn't disappoint as her 3-0 win secured her place in the showcase final being held at the end of the day.
The Boys 13-14yrs Kata event saw Alex in action. After receiving a 1st round bye, Alex performed Seienchin in the 2nd round against another English opponent who performed Bassai-Dai. A long way to travel only to come up against
someone who you could of met at a local competition but sometimes that's the way it goes. Alex won the round 3-0 only to come up against the Italian Shotokan favourite in the next round. The Italian competitor looked good, really strong, and after Alex losing to a strong
Shotokan exponent last year in the final, he was determined not to be beaten again. Alex performed Suparimpei and pulled off a great coup as he beat his opponent and local favourite 2-1. Now in the semi-final Alex performed a crisp Annan Kata to see him into the showcase final
too with a 3-0 victory over his opponent at least matching his position last year and making sure Aimee didn't get all the glory to herself.
The showcase finals started around 9:30 following the speeches, honorary presentations and musical demonstrations. Following the Technical Ball games and then Pairs finals, Aimee's final category was called up for the two finalists
to perform under the spotlights and watchful gaze of several hundred spectators. Aimee performed Annan Kata to her Luxemburg opponents Jion Kata. Aimee won over the judges with a 3 flags to 0 decision giving her her first Venice Cup title - not bad little Aimee. Alex was
called up next and chose to perform Chatanyara Kushanku whilst his German opponent performed Sochin. The decision went 2 flags to 1 in Alex's favour finally handing him the Venice Cup Kata crown that he narrowly missed out on last year. Well done Aimee and Alex - wonderful
victories.
Day two - Sunday, and time for the individual Kumite events with Alex competing in the Boys 13-14yrs, U65KG category. After receiving his customary 1st round Bye, Alex was up against a big opponent in the 2nd round. Unlike the team
events the competitors in this category were quite large and the standard was definitely higher than in Alex's category last year. Alex started well and took an early lead which frustrated his opponent into making mistakes by using wrong techniques. Alex also gained a few
category two warning for using incorrect techniques but managed to hold out before his opponent was finally disqualified. The 3rd round saw Alex win 4-1 to make the final which were held straight after the repechage matches. Alex's final was against another German opponent
taller and bigger than Alex. Alex dominated the match as he had done in all his previous matches and gained an early pint with a Gyak. After both receiving a category 2 warning Alex gained another point. Alex then started to rack up the points scoring with a Ura-Mawashigeri
before his opponent becomes frustrated and gives away too many category 2 warnings and finally getting disqualified handing the match to Alex giving him his straight third Venice Cup individual Kumite title. Well done Psycho.
The level of competition was higher than last year in the categories that the squad (Alex and Aimee) competed in (can't really comment on the other categories as I didn't see them all or compare them to last year). Also the number of
competitors had increased to 1335 making this one of the biggest European tournaments the Squad has attended so well done for both coming though it and medalling. Keep up the good work.
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