JUDO: A scintillating display from Samurai's boys' lightweight teams swept the board at the Bev Price Team Championships.

They took all four medals in the Midlands premier club competition, ensuring the overall trophy remained with them for the second year in a row.

Samurai also took gold in both the men's and women's team sections.

Teams of three players from around 20 clubs made up the sections which started with the boys' lightweight event.

The A side of Benji Connor, Tom Walker and John Connor won all the first four contests with superb showpiece judo.

Robin Woodward, Matthew Hibberd and Ben Newbury were in equally good form for the Bs, losing just one individual contest.

Less expected was the thirds' and fourths' progress to the semi-finals through Sam Stone, Charles Woodward and Karl Gaughan on one side and Wesley Connor, Joel Darch and Daniel Jones on the other.

Predictably, the A and B teams won the games but the the C and D recorded bronzes with wins over Smethwick KKK and Kettering.

The As did not have it all their own way in a 2-1 final win with Woodward close to beating B Connor and Newbury defeating J Connor.

Samurai's boys' heavyweights did well to finish fifth with two teams made up of Newbury, Kyle Everton, Anthony Todhunter, Stewart Wilson, Lee Davenport and Richard Jones.

Jones was in fine form, while Everton threw an experienced blue belt for maximum points in his first year in the sport.

Samurai girls, missing several unavailable stars, also had Kate Walker and Emmy Kimberley recovering from muscle pulls.

However, they still looked fearsome alongside the talented Aimee Hodson and made short work of Lancaster, Nottingham and Devizes on their way to the semi-finals.

They then beat club-mates Amy Evans, Charlotte Connor and Joanne Butcher who had done well to reach the stage and eventually finished fifth.

The A team lost to a strong Milton Keynes side made up of national squad players in the final.

Samurai's strong ladies team were also missing top players but quickly settled to their task.

Kim Tilley, Helen Taylor and Sarah Wilson swept to the final with 17-year-old Wilson throwing two black belts for maximum points.

They met club-mates Kimberley, Louise Dunne and Elaine Toms in the final.

Wilson secured an A victory by throwing Toms after Dunne defeated Tilley in a shock and young Kimberley gave Taylor a scare before losing.

In the ladies' individual open, Kimberley - who beat bronze medalist Dunne luckily in the semi - again gave second-level black belt Taylor problems in the final but lost.

Samurai men fielded five teams, including good players from Rod Lane's Friday senior beginners group.

Unfortunately, due to illness, Gary Harper's team was made up by just himself and the outnumbered man battled to an exit in the pool stage.

More surprisingly, Matt Davies, Martin Brown and Chris Jones were knocked out at the same time.

However, Matt Godfrey, Jim Neale and the less experienced Paul Clarke hammered their way through the pool as did Mark Donnelly, Kevin Moane and Jim Burman.

But, more surprisingly, Neil Mullis, Matt Wakeman and Samurai founder Andrew Haffner - returning after major knee reconstruction surgery - also reached the quarter-finals.

There, Donnelly, Moane and Burman were unlucky to go out to Smethwick KKK 2-1, while Godfrey, Neale and Clarke defeated Mullis, Wakeman and Haffner in an all-Samurai tie.

Their team went on to win the semi and final with Godfrey gaining the points he needed for his second-level black belt.

Neale clocked up quite a few towards his third level, while Clarke's spirit and determination meant he received the overall champion trophy on behalf of the club.

l Report from the Dixton Open next week.