Varsity Match 2008
The Varsity Match is an annual competition between the karate clubs of Cambridge and Oxford Universities. In the match, which is usually held in February, two men's teams and a women's team from each university compete in kata, team kata and kumite for the three team titles and the overall trophy, the Enoeda Cup.
Winners of the Enoeda Cup 2008: Cambridge
Team results:
- Men's A: Cambridge
- Men's B: Cambridge
- Women's: Draw
The results from the 2008 Karate Varsity Match between Cambridge and Oxford are in, and Cambridge has once again come out victorious! Following up on last year's big win over the Dark Blues, the CUKC Squad traveled to Iffley Road Sports Centre in Oxford yesterday to defend our titles. The incredible hard work, dedication, and spirit that each of the squad members exhibited over the past months has paid off as we retained the Enoeda Cup.
The day started off with the individual kata competition. Roman Sztyler and Simon Picot both gave outstanding performances of Unsu and Gankaku, which earned first and second place overall within the Men's A division respectively, thereby giving Cambridge the early edge. Madeleine Wood and Charlie Gray were the top CUKC Women's kata competitors, performing Nijushiho and Gojushiho Sho. Nicholas Edwards topped the Men's B team overall with Gojushiho Sho.
The Team Kata event followed, and demonstrated a true strength for CUKC as we won in each division. The Men's A team consisting of Paul Smith, Ian MacLeod, and Tom Johnson performed Kanku Sho to overtake Oxford's Bassai Dai. The Women's team which included Madeleine Wood, Charlie Gray, and Irina Kraicheva performed a very strong Gojushiho Sho which won out over Oxford's Kanku Sho. Finally, the Men's B Team of Roman Sztyler, Nick Worth, and Nicholas Edwards performed an excellent Jion to win over Oxford's Heian Godan.
The final event of the day was kumite. The Men's A team performed exceptionally well, winning 7 matches, drawing 1, and losing only 2. Special commendation goes to Paul Smith, who despite receiving a nasty shot to left eye about 20 seconds into his second match, skillfully took control over his opponent and won the round, making it two wins on the day. The Women's team exhibited extremely strong spirit, perfectly splitting Oxford with 3 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws. The Men's B team also fought very strongly, splitting Oxford perfectly with 2 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw.
After the competition was over, the points were added up and the winners of each division were announced. We are very happy and proud to report that Cambridge came out on top:
Men's A: Cambridge 100 - 52 Oxford
Women's: Cambridge 75 - 75 Oxford
Men's B: Cambridge 79 - 57 Oxford