Hi there on 03/06/10 I travelled with some of the Great Britain Team to Rimini Italy to take part in the Best Fighter Italian World Cup.This is another major event in the international kickboxing calender.I would compete in cattagories which would include soft forms and boys and girls mixed.This would include many competitors from the Eastern bloc countries who are trained by the Russian state circus.I was very nervous but this seemed to motivate me even more and I was really pleased to win both my weapons and open hand divisions in the under 12 age group.I won open hand and came second in the under 16 divisions.I also competed in the trix battle and was very fortunate to win gold and 300 euros.Above I am pictured with my GB team-mates and the seven trophies that we won in total.As you can imagine I had a little bit of difficulty trying to get 4 of these trophies onto the plane home.I now have a break for a bit and will be fundraising and training hard in preparation for the World Championships to be held in Belgrade Serbia in September.Saturday, 19 June 2010
ITALIAN WORLD CUP RIMINI 2010
Hi there on 03/06/10 I travelled with some of the Great Britain Team to Rimini Italy to take part in the Best Fighter Italian World Cup.This is another major event in the international kickboxing calender.I would compete in cattagories which would include soft forms and boys and girls mixed.This would include many competitors from the Eastern bloc countries who are trained by the Russian state circus.I was very nervous but this seemed to motivate me even more and I was really pleased to win both my weapons and open hand divisions in the under 12 age group.I won open hand and came second in the under 16 divisions.I also competed in the trix battle and was very fortunate to win gold and 300 euros.Above I am pictured with my GB team-mates and the seven trophies that we won in total.As you can imagine I had a little bit of difficulty trying to get 4 of these trophies onto the plane home.I now have a break for a bit and will be fundraising and training hard in preparation for the World Championships to be held in Belgrade Serbia in September.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
More local photocalls - High Peak and Bolsover
Many thanks to everyone who attended the recent photocalls in either the High Peak or Bolsover. The events are always a great opportunity for athletes to meet other young sports competitors from the area and representatives from some of the funding partners who we are so grateful to for their support.
The Bolsover photocall was held at Bolsover District Council's Sherwood Lodge offices and athletes were congratulated by Bolsover District Council Chairman Councillor Rita Turner, Senior Sport Development Officer Jenny carter and Derbyshire Sport Chairman Councillor Clive Moesby.
Meanwhile in High Peak the athletes gathered at The Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, and were joined by Jean Wharmby, Executive Councillor for Social and Community Development at High Peak Borough Council, and Nigel Bonner from the Electrical Contractors Association.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
U18 National Cup Finals
Having won the National U18 Cup for the last 3 consecutive years, we (Belper) were favourites going into the finals weekend at Cannock.
However, we knew we faced tough opposition in the forms of Wycombe HC, Firebrands and Bradford-Wakefield HC who all boasted regional and junior international players.
The tournament took a round robin format, with us playing our first game on the Saturday then our final 2 on the Sunday. Our first game was against Wycombe HC who played very defensively throughout the match, making it very difficult to convert the persistent pressure we had. Eventually, after a slow start we came out 5-0 winners. We were obviously pleased with our victory but knew that we had to raise our game to match the stronger opposition we would face the following day.
Our first game on the Sunday was against Firebrands. Again, whilst we had a lot of pressure and most of the possession in the first half, we struggled to convert our chances, with their goalkeeper making many outstanding saves. By half time, the score was only 1-0 in our favour.
We started the second half strongly and were awarded a penalty stoke within 2 minutes of the restart, after one of our players was fouled in the circle. I stepped forward to convert it bringing the score to 2-0 and a minute later we had scored again. Towards the end of the match we were given a second penalty stoke after it was judged the Firebrands goalkeeper had taken down our player without taking the ball whilst making a save. Again, I took the penalty and scored meaning the final score was 4-0.
The final game of the tournament was crucial. Almost in a repeat of last year we were to play Bradford-Wakefield and a win or a draw would mean we retained our title whilst a loss would have meant Bradford-Wakefield won.
Again we put lots of pressure on Wakefield from the start but this time it paid off more quickly – in the 7th minute a rebound off the goalkeeper came to me and I slotted it in the back of the net. After that our confidence rose and we played brilliantly. The goals kept on coming and the game finished at 6-0.
As the final whistle blew we were ecstatic with our win, however it was also emotional as 3 of our team had just played our last ever match for Belper before moving onto university.
Overall the weekend was a great experience and good luck to next year’s team – hopefully they can retain the title for a fifth year running!
However, we knew we faced tough opposition in the forms of Wycombe HC, Firebrands and Bradford-Wakefield HC who all boasted regional and junior international players.
The tournament took a round robin format, with us playing our first game on the Saturday then our final 2 on the Sunday. Our first game was against Wycombe HC who played very defensively throughout the match, making it very difficult to convert the persistent pressure we had. Eventually, after a slow start we came out 5-0 winners. We were obviously pleased with our victory but knew that we had to raise our game to match the stronger opposition we would face the following day.
Our first game on the Sunday was against Firebrands. Again, whilst we had a lot of pressure and most of the possession in the first half, we struggled to convert our chances, with their goalkeeper making many outstanding saves. By half time, the score was only 1-0 in our favour.
We started the second half strongly and were awarded a penalty stoke within 2 minutes of the restart, after one of our players was fouled in the circle. I stepped forward to convert it bringing the score to 2-0 and a minute later we had scored again. Towards the end of the match we were given a second penalty stoke after it was judged the Firebrands goalkeeper had taken down our player without taking the ball whilst making a save. Again, I took the penalty and scored meaning the final score was 4-0.
The final game of the tournament was crucial. Almost in a repeat of last year we were to play Bradford-Wakefield and a win or a draw would mean we retained our title whilst a loss would have meant Bradford-Wakefield won.
Again we put lots of pressure on Wakefield from the start but this time it paid off more quickly – in the 7th minute a rebound off the goalkeeper came to me and I slotted it in the back of the net. After that our confidence rose and we played brilliantly. The goals kept on coming and the game finished at 6-0.
As the final whistle blew we were ecstatic with our win, however it was also emotional as 3 of our team had just played our last ever match for Belper before moving onto university.
Overall the weekend was a great experience and good luck to next year’s team – hopefully they can retain the title for a fifth year running!
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Snooker - the story so far
(Me after winning the World Ladies Junior title - April)
Hi, I am Hannah Jones, I am 13 years old and I play snooker.
I have had a great year so far. I have played snooker, billiards and pool around the country and have won a few tournaments.
I will use this blog to bring you up to date.
In April I played in the World Ladies Snooker Championships in Cambridge. I have been playing in the World Champs since I was 9 years old. This year I qualified for the knockout stage for the first time in the seniors game but lost to Maria Catalano in the last 16 - Maria is Ronnie O'Sullivans cousin.
I played in the World Ladies Junior Tournament a competition for Under 18 lady players. This is an event that I have won in 2008 and 2009 and this year I played really well winning all my matches without dropping a frame to make it my 3rd World Ladies Junior title in a row. My performance in the WLBSA tournaments up to the World Champs mean that I start the next season officially number 9 in the world and provisionally Number 7 on the senior ladies ranking list.
I then played in the EABA English Under 19 Ladies billiards tournament and won that.
I have also just won the EASB English Ladies Snooker Championship at the World Snooker Academy in May beating my opponent 5-0 in the final.
I am now ranked number 1 on the EASB - English Ladies ranking list and will get an automatic selection for International events for the rest of the year.
I have a bit of a break now before the start of the new season which starts again in August with an International match and then in September with an exhibition in Belgium which is followed up with the Home Internationals and the first of the Ladies event which are the Masters and the Ladies UK Championships.
(Me after winning the English Ladies Title - May)
I have already had a great year and will post up more news when the new season starts. You can see my other results by looking at my website Hannah Jones Website
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Venray International, The Netherlands
Last weekend I went to the Netherlands for the 2010 Venray International Judo Tournament. Over 1500 of the best fighters from 23 different European countries competed. At under 15’s this is the premier event for children of my age. This was the fifth year I had attended this event I won Bronze and Silver Medals in 2006 and 2008. In my group were fighters from Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Great Britain, Latvia, Switzerland, Russia and the host country The Netherlands.
My first fight was a tough match against a strong Belgian fighter. I am often a slow starter and I struggled with my first opponent’s awkward style and had to rely on the referee’s decision after a tough five minutes of fighting. My next match was an easier affair beating a strong Dutch Judoka with a stylish foot sweep. My third fight was against a strong British Fighter, Connor Potts. I controlled the fight well winning the fight and progressing through to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals I was up against an impressive German fighter who had earlier easily defeated fighters from France and Latvia. In a close tactical fight going the full five minutes I won 3-0 on flags and a place in the 2010 final. In the final I was up against one of the top Dutch under fifteen fighters, Sandor De Jong. Sandor had easily beat me earlier in the year at the Dutch Espoir event and he was favourite to take the Venray title this year. I had studied his style well since we last met, and controlled the fight from the start. After two close scores I threw the Dutch fighter for Ippon to become 2010 champion. Gold Medal in this event was my best International result to date.
My first fight was a tough match against a strong Belgian fighter. I am often a slow starter and I struggled with my first opponent’s awkward style and had to rely on the referee’s decision after a tough five minutes of fighting. My next match was an easier affair beating a strong Dutch Judoka with a stylish foot sweep. My third fight was against a strong British Fighter, Connor Potts. I controlled the fight well winning the fight and progressing through to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals I was up against an impressive German fighter who had earlier easily defeated fighters from France and Latvia. In a close tactical fight going the full five minutes I won 3-0 on flags and a place in the 2010 final. In the final I was up against one of the top Dutch under fifteen fighters, Sandor De Jong. Sandor had easily beat me earlier in the year at the Dutch Espoir event and he was favourite to take the Venray title this year. I had studied his style well since we last met, and controlled the fight from the start. After two close scores I threw the Dutch fighter for Ippon to become 2010 champion. Gold Medal in this event was my best International result to date.
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