TEN members from Launceston Tae Kwon-Do and five ladies from BOP (Bude, Okehampton and Plymouth) Tae Kwon-Do Club were among 450 students from all over the UK who competed in the South West Championships at the Hutton Moor Leisure Centre in Weston-Super-Mare on Sunday, February 11.

The competition had a high entry and exceptional standard of competitors as this is a World Championship year.

Three students from Launceston — Annabel Barnes (bronze in ladies’ black belt sparring), John Titley (silver in the men’s yellow belt pattern) and Lowenna Barnes (gold in the girls’ tag-team sparring) came home with medals while two from Bude did likewise as Martha Stratton won silver in the yellow/green belt girls patterns and Heather Sirmon won silver in the ladies heavyweight sparring class as well as bronze in the yellow/green belt ladies patterns.

Martha’s sister Millie and Heather’s daughter Evelyne produced their best ever performances but just missed out on a medal in the yellow/green belt girls patterns while Martha and Millie’s mum Rachel Stratton was outside of the medal places in her events.

Reflecting on her achievements, Martha admitted that she was shocked to reach the final.

She said: “I thought I was in fourth place, and I was proud of that. I had achieved a higher score than any other competition I’d done before.

“I was surprised when they called me back up for a play-off, and I thought I had a chance of getting a bronze, so I gave it my very best effort.

“Then they told me that I was playing off for gold/silver, I couldn’t believe it and ended up getting the silver.”

BOP instructor, Guy Southard, added: “Obviously it’s fantastic for my students when they win medals, and I’m impressed and delighted with Martha because she’s been entering competitions for about a year. It would have been easy for her to be discouraged, but she’s learned each time. All of them have learned from being brave and entering competitions, and what great role models those mums are!

“We’re gearing up now for the English Championships in March and the World Championships in July. It’s quite a humbling thought that we live in this tiny coastal town in North Cornwall, and we’re putting out the kind of standard that is ranked alongside the rest of the world.”