JUDO: A barn-storming performance from Worcestershire led them to five gold medals and one silver out of six categories at the Midlands Inter-Counties Team Championships
Kidderminster's Samurai formed the backbone of the squad with 23 of the 36 players but there was strong support from Redditch's Arrowvale squad, as well as Gorse Hill and One On One from Worcester.
Four Samurai players, Greg Oertel, Andrew Edlin, Robin Woodward and Benjy Connor, inspired the boys' lightweight team to a comfortable 4-1 final win.
They started shakily with a 3-2 success but roared to a 5-0 semi-final victory as Oertel, Woodward and Connor won all their contests.
Edlin weighed in with two wins and the less experienced Michael Lloyd, of Worcester, had one.
Emily Watson and Amy Oertel were the driving force behind the girls' lightweight A team's success.
Samurai's Sam Jones gave strong backing along with Joanna Cowie and Hannah Ramsden, of Worcester, as they cruised into the final.
The B team, including Wyre Forest's Poppy James and Sally Moon, surprised many people by reaching the final.
Moon was suffering with flu and was substituted by her twin sister Rachel but although James made Watson work for her win, the A team ran out 4-1 winners for the gold medal.
The boys' heavyweight team always looked in control with Ryan Ramsden, of Worcester, and Samurai's Karl Gaughan winning every contest to give them a good lead.
Gaughan's club-mate Stewart Wilson also picked up victories where needed to make it a hat-trick of golds for Worcestershire.
An all-Samurai team of Caris Butler, Kate Walker, Emma Butler, Lauren Underhill and Katherine Lloyd Jones were far too classy for the opposition in the heavyweight section.
The last four won every single contest with the less experienced C Butler battling bravely as they provided the county's fourth gold medal.
The men's team looked awesome as the unstoppable Samurai quartet of Asa Payne, Kevin McCauley, Mat Godfrey and Paul Jones helped them clock up 7-0 wins until they ran out of opposition.
Lee Day, James Humphries and Sean Williams were also involved from other county clubs.
The Worcestershire domination finally ended in the ladies' category when Shropshire pipped the all-Samurai team of E Butler, Sue Cosnett and Helen Taylor 3-2 in the final.
They were missing K Walker with a bad back but Cosnett and Taylor clocked up fine wins, while E Butler battled well against a black belt in the final.
County coach Andrew Haffner, also of Samurai, thanked the other clubs for their strong backing and described the team spirit as "superb".
Haffner added: "Each of the clubs which has supported the squad sessions, the fun day, the trials and the competition has helped us and at the same time their own players have benefited."
For more details about Samurai, call Tina Gaughan on 01905 452562.
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