The Sports Awards are arranged by Basingstoke Voluntary Local Sports Council under the Chairmanship of Kevin Laing and are supported by Basingstoke Council.

Our coaches were nominated for three categories and we had some great results. With the following awards.

Lindsey Andrews – 3^rd Place Ladies Sportswoman of the Year

Katherine White – 1^st Place Volunteer Coach of the Year

Bryan Andrews – 1^st Place Professional Coach of the Year

This was a very pleasing result and one that we are proud of, which shows our commitment to both high quality coaching and our success at a competitive level.

In addition the following members were invited to attend the Mayors Reception with current Basingstoke and Deane Mayor David Leek. For Junior Volunteers, Isabel Bailey, Harry Cronk, Edward van Meerkerk and Spardha Kumar. Along with Gavin Downey, for Adult Disability Sportsman.

Congratulations to all of our members who were nominated.

Isabel and Georgina took part in a rigerous three hour grading that included demonstrating power and speed against pads in their kicks, punches and strikes, plus self defence applications. They also had to demonstrate a depth of knowledge by showing difference applications / meanings for a single move. They then had to fight 16 fights each including standup fighting, throwing and then groundwork, all prior to demonstrating their katas and forms. 

Gavin's grading consisted of both practical applications of his Martial Arts training including self defence techniques against some of the habitual acts of violence, sparring to demonstrate competency whilst being pressure tested by difference opponents. He also had to show theoretical and principle based knowledge including how one's training might change as one gets older and then teaching some techniques based on these ideas to other people being graded. Gavin's test concluded with him demonstrating forms and katas along with a number of applications to moves within his chosen kata before cuminating in some stand up grappling work.

"A Black belt is just the beginning."

We had a great Martial Art seminar at our Dojo in Basingstoke taking part in an event that raised over £800 for The British Red Cross due to the generous donations from the participants.

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At the Sport Hampshire and Isle of Wight awards on 23rd March, our Martial Arts Academy from Basingstoke won the prestigious award of ‘Hampshire Sports Club of the Year.’

Katherine Wight, Sarah Godley and Alison Lee from Biscoes, Oliver Andrews on their shoulders, Lindsey Andrews and Nicola van Meerkerk. 

The awards ceremony was held at Southampton Football Club and was organised by Sport Hampshire and Isle of Wight, The event was hosted by Roger Johnson of BBC South today.

This award represents the culmination of a very successful year in Basingstoke for Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy, which included.

• Moving into it’s own full time professionally equipped Martial Arts centre
• Providing Martial Arts classes in Karate, Kung Fu, Judo, Ju Jitsu, Tai Chi and Vale Tudo and fitness classes in Les Mills’ Bodycombat, Pilates and Circuits.
• Becoming Basingstoke and Deane’s Sport Club of the year 2009/2010
• Achieving Sport England’s Quality Kitemark ‘Clubmark accreditation’
• Hosting numerous courses during the year with world class coaches
• Teaching quality Martial Arts at all levels from recreational users to successful national level elite competitors and ages between 4 years old and 60+

Programme Director Lindsey Andrews, Coach Katherine White and Centre Manager Nicola van Meerkerk represented the club at the Sports awards along with 9 year old Oliver Andrews who is one of the students. This years Sports Awards saw a record number of nominations, with over 200 from all over the Hampshire region in 17 different categories and nominees included many international and Olympic level athletes. There was stiff competition for the coveted title of Club of the year with 20 clubs from the region put forward. The award was sponsored by Biscoes Solicitors (www.biscoes-law.co.uk) and the three shortlisted nominees were Chawton Park Indoor Bowls Club from East Hampshire, Warsash Wasps Football Club and Shin Gi Tai.
 

Heather Windust from Sport Hampshire IOW commented “The awards are a fantastic celebration of sport throughout the county, and reflect not only the quality of local sporting achievement, but also the dedication, commitment and excellence of the many unsung heroes.  The club of the year category had over 20 nominations, it was a tough decision to whittle them down to just 3 and even tougher to decide on a winner. However the work Shin Gi Tai do in the local community and the dedication they have to developing their coaches and members made them deserving winners.”

There were a number of other Sportspeople from Basingstoke also made it into the top 3 in their respective categories, they were:

James Feighery-Murphy (Karate) -  Junior sportsman of the year
Rob Tobin (Athletics) – Senior sportsman of the year
Ben Hazell (Athletics) - Senior sportsman of the year
Rebecca Jane (Football) - Senior sportswoman of the year
Basingstoke Teamgym squad (Gymnastics) – Senior team of the year
Nigel Long (Tennis) – Performance coach of the year

The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane Cllr Keith Chapman said: “I am delighted that this forward thinking and proactive club won the award against tough competition from other strong clubs across the county.  It was very well deserved and is a testament to the hard work of the club and its many volunteers.  The club is a credit to the borough, making a contribution not only in the area of sport but to the local community, for example running self-defence classes and anti-bullying sessions. The council has worked in partnership with the club on various sports development initiatives and great links have been established with schools and voluntary organisations.  The club is very highly regarded locally.”

Chief Instructor Bryan Andrews said of the award “We have a great team of highly experienced coaches and staff and many enthusiastic members taking part in our classes. This award is really theirs and it is down to their hard work, effort and their determination to be the best they can. I’m delighted that their efforts have been recognised by Hampshire County”

Further information on Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy: -  Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy is Basingstoke’s only full time Martial Arts center teaching a range of Martial Arts including Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, Tai Chi, Ju Jitsu and Vale Tudo. In addition there are a number of fitness classes including Pilates, Body Combat and Circuits based classes.

There are specific class for adults and children to train in seperately. Children’s class are split into age specific groups of 4 – 6 yrs, 6 – 9 yrs and 10 – 14 yrs. In addition there are family classes where parents and children can train together.

Classes take place during the day time and evenings.

Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy is registered with The Martial Arts Standards Agency, Shikon International, The British Council for Chinese Martial Arts., World Union of Karate Federation and accredited with Sport England’s ‘Clubmark’ Accreditation.

The award for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sports Club was sponsored by

Clubmark Accredited Sports Club

BODYCOMBAT is here to stay in Basingstoke. Taught by our professional Martial Artists and fitness coaches, this class will get you really fit, really fast.

Come and join us in January to get fitter faster and pay only £25 for  8 classes.

BODYCOMBAT is the empowering cardio workout where you are totally unleashed. This fiercely energetic program is inspired by martial arts and draws from a wide array of disciplines such as karate, boxing, taekwondo, tai chi and muay thai. Supported by driving music and powerful role model instructors, you strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness. Like all the LES MILLS programs, a new BODYCOMBAT class is produced every three months with new music and moves.

Frequently asked Questions:

A typical class

Your BODYCOMBAT instructor will lead you through a series of moves from a range of martial arts, to a series of different music tracks.

1 – You’ll begin by learning all the moves that will be used throughout the class, and warming up your body and mind for the battle ahead.

2  – Visualise your opponent and unleash into a series of fight combinations. The focus is on speed, power and endurance. There will be time to recover as you prepare for the each phase, with a final fight for your life that will seal the deal on your fitness objectives.

3 - Finally, you will take to the floor and cap off the workout with some strength training. Then it’s payback time – stretch out those hard-worked muscles after your fight.

Body Combat class in action

After Class – You’ve done a class, now tell the instructors what you thought and let us know about our classes.

BENEFITS OF BODYCOMBAT

HOW FIT DO I NEED TO BE?

BODYCOMBAT is for everyone with moderate fitness levels. And because the moves are simple, you don’t need to be especially well coordinated. Just give it a go!

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I TAKE A CLASS?

BODYCOMBAT is addictive, but don’t overdo it. For best results try and battle it out two or three times a week.

WILL BODYCOMBAT HELP ME IN SELF-DEFENCE?

BODYCOMBATis a non-contact fitness program, not a self-defence course. However fitness is beneficial in any situation. If you want to learn self defence them come and try our beginners Martial Arts classes.http://www.basingstokemartialarts.com/classes/adults/traditional-karate/

WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING?

Come and join us in January to get fitter faster and pay only £25 for  8 classes.

Call 07768 470105 for more information or to book your place.

Good luck to all those attempting new belts.

If anyone can't make the grading, please can they let me know.

Bryan 07768 470105

Note – The family class at 9:30 is cancelled though.

The grading will be re-arranged for January, date to be advised.

We will review later what we do about tomorrows grading sessions.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Bryan 07768 470105 or bryan.andrews@basingstokekarate.com