The Varsity Match is the annual competition between the karate clubs of Cambridge and Oxford Universities. On Sunday 23 March 2025, the clubs met at the University of Cambridge Sports Centre to contest kata, team kata and kumite for the team titles and the Enoeda Cup.
Cambridge entered with an 18-year winning streak and high expectations. Although the overall victory was not ours, every Cambridge competitor delivered an impressive performance marked by skill, determination and team spirit.
Kata
The competition began with Men’s Individual Kata from Callum, Lukas, Li Sen and Will. Women’s Individual Kata followed with Rose, Ayako, Amelie and Erin. Rose gave an outstanding performance of Anan; although Oxford won the event by 14 points, ties for first and fourth showed how closely fought it was.
Cambridge claimed a decisive 25-17 victory in Mixed Individual Kata. Yusuf gave an impressive Kosokun Sho, while Nirmay, Angela and Taaliya shared third place. Team kata followed, with the Cambridge mixed team initially tying Oxford.
Kumite
The Men’s Kumite team was Li Sen, Will, Lukas and Yusuf. Yusuf defeated Noah and fought valiantly against Rasmus, a BUCS medallist in the men’s 84kg+ category.
Ayako, Deepthi, Rose and Angela secured a 27-21 victory in Women’s Kumite. Ayako and Rose each won one fight and drew another. The Mixed Kumite team then produced a dominant 36-12 victory: Erin, Liz and Nirmay won convincingly, while Callum fought hard despite a highly contested decision.
Results
Oxford won the Men’s Trophy 84-18 and the Women’s Trophy 61-41. Cambridge won the Mixed Trophy 67-35. Oxford therefore took the Enoeda Cup, but Cambridge’s strength in kumite and the experience of facing an exceptional Oxford side have fuelled the squad’s determination to return stronger.
A huge thank you goes to the home spectators, referees and judges, coach Sensei Ken, and the President and Captains.