Young talent takes centre stage at Broome’s Tatami Cup Martial Arts Tournament

The second annual Broome Tatami Cup showcased an incredible range of talent on March 23 with the competition seeing Broome’s best martial artists go head-to-head for glory. The atmosphere in the Dojang on the evening of the event was electrifying, with athletes pushing their limits in points fighting, light contact matches, jumping front kick and board breaking competitions. In points fighting, Naevia Williams took home the gold in the girls’ first division followed by Paige Cann-Hall. In the girls second division, Lily Malcolm secured the top spot followed by Kyra Herveux, Brooke Santoro, and Danica Loos. The boys first division was dominated by Hunter Williams with Kaden Laws in second place and Lewis Carlson and Seon John tied for third place. Beau Odiam emerged victorious in the boys second division followed by Beau Garstone while Ezra Webb led the boys third division with Blake Reynolds in second place and Riley Cann-Hall in third. In the boys fourth division Keegan Chappell outshone his competition with Bennon Garande taking second place and Arun Sidharthan triumphed over Billy Smith to take home the win in the men’s division. In light contact sparring Naevia Williams tied with Paige Cann-Hall for first place in the girls first division while Lily Malcolm again showed her prowess in the girls second division followed by Loos and Herveux. The boys first division was taken by Carlson with Christopher Besky placing second and Hunter Williams and John tied for third. In the boys second division Odiam and Garstone tied for second place with Zach Babaran leading the pack. Webb continued his winning streak in the boys third division with the boys fourth division witnessing Mackie Brown at the top, closely followed by Chappell and Garande. In the men’s division, Terry Budd clinched first leaving Smith in second while Sidharthan and Ben Hulse tied for third. In the jumping front kick competition, Cann-Hall took the win in the girls first division followed by Naevia Williams. Garstone led the second division followed by Hunter Williams and Besky. Odiam showcased his versatility by topping the third division with Ruby Cann-Hall and Laws also delivering commendable performances. Zach Barbaran, Riley Cann-Hall, and Brooke Santoro were the stand-outs in division four demonstrating the incredible agility required in this discipline. Taekwondo Broome head coach Rob McGregor won the men’s board breaking closeley followed by Bobbie Garande in second place.