It’s taken some time but we’ve finally gotten around to finishing the video of the last leg of the Speyside Way walk!
From the exact spot in Aberlour that Sensei John and Mike Dee finished the first leg, and joined by Archie Liddle, the small but determined squad set out to finish what they’d started a month beforehand.
With a few serious hills between them and the finish line in Buckie, the chaps set off.
Here’s how the 9 hours and 26.5 miles unfolded…
Almost, anyway!
After putting our grading back by a week thanks to the Beast from the East, it was brilliant to see so many students at Tigers HQ in Buckie last weekend for the first grading of 2018.
Here’s how it went down!
Teens and Adults
Red Belt
Jordan Thomson
Eilidh Cryle
Owen Elmquist
Yellow Belt
Sheridan Williams
Orange Belt
Sinead Mariner
Green Belt
Niamh Mariner
Mike Dee
Alan Dunkley
Blue Belt
Colin Morrison
Cara Coull
Purple Belt
Rhuairidh Barclay
Advanced Belts
Archie Liddle (brown/white)
Lucy Adam (brown/black)
Thomas Pirie (red/black tags)
Tiger Cubs
Red Belt
Murray Woolloff
Isla Park
Erin Bruce
Alexis Philip
Daisy Wilson
Yellow Belt
Haydn Green
Green Belt
Logan Cruickshank
Blue Belt
Aiden Grant
Leith McRailt-Young
Lexie Bain
Liam Morrison
Purple Belt
Alex Gall
Hayden Gall
Brown Belt
Callum Coutts-Trotter
Advanced Belts
Hayden Taylor (brown/white)
Rio Gordon (brown/white)
Harry Woolloff (red/black tags)
Tiny Tigers
Red Belt
Ollie Crane
Connor Crystal
Yellow Belt
Aaron Finnie
Ryan Finnie
Kieran McIntosh
Esme Sutcliffe
Orange Belt
Emily Hibbett
Green Belt
Maia Dee
Conor Erskine
Alfie Cormack
Jake Ennals
Lucas Whittle
Sophia Williams-Chitty
Purple Belt
Hadden Dunkley
Joshua McNeil
Brown Belt
Josh Sharp
Advanced Belts
John Mosley (green/black)
Congratulations to all the students, everyone did an amazing job. The club is going from strength to strength, with new students getting their first belts and experienced fighters getting closer to the Black; it’s going to be an exciting year for the club.
ETMA
It was an early start for the team but on Saturday February 10th, the Tigers descended upon Perth to take part in the WKA Scottish Championships. Some of the best fighters in Scotland were on site, as well as a large showing from clubs south of the border so the standard was extremely high.
Having weighed in, the team waited patiently for their turns to fight. Leith was up first against a fearsome competitor and put on a good show in the under 10s category. Callum and Harry, fighting in the same category, stepped in against much more experienced fighters and gave it their all in front of a huge crowd.
Thomas fought in the 60kg-70kg 15-17 year old Points category and despite a hard battle against the eventual winner in round one, took home a bronze for the Tigers. Unfortunately a hip injury meant he had to withdraw from his Continuous competition but with the Arbroath Open a month away and training for our 66-mile hike in full swing (don’t forget to sponsor us here!) it was a sensible decision not to further damage his leg.
Niamh had possibly the toughest run, with 8 fighters in the 60kg-70kg 15-17 year old Points category including former Irish Open champion Hannah Weatherley. Niamh won both her quarter and semi finals and faced Hannah in the final and despite a brutal, rib-cracking side kick from the champ, Niamh put up a valiant effort and took home the silver medal with pride.
In his first competition, Mike was one of only two veterans in the 70kg-80kg Points category, and was victim to some poor refereeing from the officials that meant he came up short after the end of the 2 x 2-min rounds.
All in all it was a long but productive day. Everyone gained experience from the event and as a team, we can be proud of ourselves. However, there are plenty of improvements to be made but with at least one tournament a month for the rest of the year, there’s going to be plenty more opportunities to grow and succeed.
Next stop, the WUMA Arbroath Open.
ETMA
Walking is something we all do every day. However, walking 20 miles is not. In fact, if someone told you they were walking 20 miles you’d probably think they were slightly odd.
If they told you they were walking 20 miles on two consecutive days, you’d think they were crazy.
If they told you they were walking 20 miles on three consecutive days, plus a few extra miles just for the hell of it, you’d think they were stark raving mad.
Enter the Tigers!
From April 20th – April 22nd 2018 a group of determined fighters will be trekking from Aviemore to Tigers HQ in Buckie to raise money for the club.
Our route will be around 66 miles in total, and we’ll be carrying our own supplies.
Our ambition is to raise £5,000 so that we can send our five best fighters to Dublin to represent the club at the World Championships in October; it’s a lot of money so we knew our first challenge would need to be a big one!
We’ve not got long to train and there’s definitely some nerves in the ranks but we’ve committed to this, and we’ll get it done! Expect training updates, video and pictures over the next few weeks as we struggle to go from points fighters to ultra-marathon distance walkers…
We’re also going to be donating 5% of everything we receive to local charities in Moray to make sure that even though we are raising money for the club, we’re giving back to the local community.
If you want to be a part of the journey let us know, and please visit our fundraising page here
Time to lace the boots up…
ETMA
…And it’s going to be a long road. But we’re ready. Well, not quite yet but we’re on our way!
2018 is going to be a huge year for the Eastern Tigers family. We’ve got a new website and more members than ever; we’re planning some huge fundraising endeavours over the next few months which are going to test everyone physically and mentally but I know we’re up for the challenge.
With promising fighters in every age and weight class our goal is to take the club to tournaments worldwide and return with some silverware for the cabinet in Buckie. There isn’t a cabinet yet but we’ll sort something out…
Expect a lot more from the Tigers over the coming weeks and months; more videos, more pictures, more competitions, and more trophies.
Watch this space for more information about our journey, and feel free to get involved!
ETMA
Our team at the Dion Yates Memorial Open in Lossiemouth, Jan 28th 2017
