| ||||||||||
|
 |
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Karate tourney draws more than 200 competitors to BHSParticipants represent 25 studios Belen Registration for the third annual Tamara Long Archuleta Memorial Open Karate Championships was down slightly, but you could hardly tell that from the full gymnasium Saturday at Belen High School. Over 200 competitors signed up for the largest annual martial arts event in Valencia County, including many young people. Though the count was down slightly from last year, the tournament gave all three martial arts studios from the county, plus 22 others from around the Southwest, a chance to compete for trophies in both Kata (form) and Kumite (sparring). "We had one group from Phoenix that brought about 11 competitors, and they said they can't find many organized tournaments like this," said Richard Long of Belen Goju Ryu. "It took so much work to make this thing work, and it's humbling to think how much support we get for this event." Long and his wife Cindy produce the massive tourney, named for their daughter Tamara, who died in military service in Afghanistan in 2003. With donations, registration fees and what Richard Long called outstanding local spectator attendance, the Longs raised $3,000 for their scholarship fund for homeschooled students attending the University of New Mexico. The 2007 tournament raised $3,500 for scholarships. Long said there were many late-afternoon spectators who showed up after most of the young children were done competing. This indicated to him that the late-arriving spectators were mostly local, and that the Grand Champion competitions, held late in the day, are a good draw. Long said he's impressed the fundraising total was so high despite the dropoff in registration. He said the feedback about the tournament is very positive, and he thanked the many volunteers and Belen High School for their support. A color guard unit from BHS participated in the opening ceremonies. Belen Goju Ryu had 67 competitors Saturday, with many volunteering as well. Jeff Ash and his daughters Sarah and Maggie sang the national anthem. Ash was one participant with Goju Ryu connections to perform well in competition. He went on to win the Adult Kata Grand Championship in the Kyu (non-black belt) division. Jeremy Sanchez won the same award in the black belt division. Jennifer Coleman won the women's black belt fighting grand championship. Trophies were awarded to children and adults in more than 100 divisions. More tournament results will be published in a future issue of the News-Bulletin.
|
|
|
||||||
|
||||||||||
