Welsh Wonders   It was the three amigos who become the Welsh Wonders on Sunday 26th November 2006 as Sophie Roberts, Aimee Sell and Alex Sell travelled to Cardiff, Wales to take part in the Welsh Open Championships. Last year the trio came home with 5 medals - all Gold as it happens, this year they won another 5 medals between them - 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze.   The Kata events commenced first with Alex Sell competing in the Boys 14-15yrs category. With 15 competitors in this event, Alex had four rounds to contend with. Round one saw Alex perform Seienchin Kata and win the round 3-0. The 2nd round saw Alex take a 3-0 win once again following his Bassai-Dai Kata. In the semi-final, Alex performed Chatanyara Kushanku and beat his opponent with a 2-1 victory. The final saw Alex against Vale Karate's Elliot Evans. Elliot performed Shotokan Goju Shiho-Sho with Alex performing Shito-Ryu Suparimpei and it was Alex's Suparimpei that took the victory in convincing fashion winning 3-0. This was a good win for Alex who captured the Boys 12-13yrs title last year.   The Mixed U12yrs Kata category saw 52 competitors all vying for the honour of being crowned champion with Shuhari-Kai's Aimee Sell being one of those competitors. Aimee had won this event for the last two years and was an obvious favourite from the start. As this was an open grade event, the competitors were allowed to repeat their Katas, in every round if desired. Even though this was to be a six round event, Aimee, true to form elected to stick to the WKF system and perform a different Kata each round starting with her WKF compulsory. The 1st round saw Aimee perform Bassai-Dai Kata and win the round 3-0. Round two saw Aimee perform her 2nd compulsory Kata, Seienchin, and once again win the round 3-0. The 3rd round saw Aimee perform Seipai Kata to good effect as she won the round with another 3-0 victory. The 4th round saw Aimee drop her only flag of the day as her Annan Kata beat her opponents Unshu 2-1. The semi-final saw Aimee get back to her 3-0 victories as her Nipaipo Kata won the round 3-0. The final saw Aimee perform Chatanyara Kushanku Kata and her performance won the judges over yet again she secured a 3-0 victory and the Gold for the third time running in this event, a fantastic record and one that may stand for some time. Shuhari-Kai have won this event for the last four years running initially winning this event back in 2003 with Jodie Miles and Alex Sell gaining a 1-2. In 2004 it was 9 year old Aimee who against the odds carried the flag for Shuhari-Kai to record a dramatic victory against some of Wales' best competitors. In 2005 Aimee, now 10 years old, was favourite for the title and didn't disappoint as she secured back-to-back wins. This year, 2006, Aimee claims her hatrick of wins despite the suffering from sickness earlier in the week and in fact she was actually sick (in the corner - yuk) during her event (between the 2nd and 3rd rounds I think).   The Girls 14-15yrs Kata event saw Sophie Roberts in action along with 16 other competitors making this a four round event like Alex's was. Also competing in this event was Ishinryu's Sophie Richardson who had joined our small gang for the day. Sophie Roberts performed Bassai-Dai in her opening round and took the win with a 3-0 victory. Sophie Richardson performed Bassai-Dai for her opening round Kata and also secured a 3-0 win. The 2nd round saw Roberts perform Annan Kata and once again secure a 3-0 win. Richardson, on the other hand, failed to make the 3rd round as her Goju Shiho-Sho Kata lost out 3-0. The semi-final saw Roberts' run come to an end and her Unshu Kata was beaten 3-0. Although She won this event last year, she had to settle for Bronze this time round but to gain another medal was excellent.   The Kumite events were eventually underway and Alex Sell was up first for the squad competing in the Boys 14-15yrs category against 17 other competitors. Alex won his opening round 4-0 despite being warned about excessive contact and told to 'tone it down', a warning that Alex adhered to for the rest of his fights. The 2nd saw Alex comfortably win 5-0 to make the semi-final. Alex had a cagey semi-final scoring a single point off his opponent to secure a narrow victory to take him into the final. The final saw Alex drop his only point of the of the event as he ran out a 3-1 winner to claim Gold and the title to add to the 12-13yrs title her secured last year.   The Girls 14-15yrs Kumite event saw Sophie Roberts competing along with Ishinryu's Sophie Richardson. With 13 competing in this event, both girls had four rounds to contend with. Richardson started well opening up a lead but was caught towards the end leaving the match drawn at 2-2 at the end. But it was Richardson who scored the first point in extra time to make the next round. No such problems for Roberts as she stormed to an impressive 8-0 victory for her opening round match. The 2nd round saw Richardson take a couple of hard blows to her face which resulted in a nose bleed for her. After a short medical pause, she bravely carried on and won the round 7-2. Roberts once again stayed out of trouble and let her legs fly once more securing yet another 8-0 win. The semi-finals saw both girls drawn apart with Richardson up first. After a more controlled fight, Richardson came out a 5-2 victor to make the final. Roberts, competing in the other semi-final, was once again in dominating form as she secured a 5-0 victory to make the final without dropping a single point so far. The final saw an excellent fight with Roberts taking an early lead but unfortunately, Richardson came back to win 4-3 and take gold.  Nevertheless it was good to see Sophie Roberts back on form.  A great weekend for the students who look forward to the next competition.