Thanks all for a great year. I hope that you have all had a great rest and that you are fully charged for an action packed term.

Last year saw a lot of people progress well through some more grades and we have been very pleased with some of the standards shown.

The summer camp at the end of November 2006 was a great success. We did some great training and we had a lot of fun (9-hours of training, a lot of good food and wine) – photos of this weekend are now on the website.

Congratulations go to the following people who graded successfully last term:

•   Kritesh Maharaj

• James Craig

Junior Yellow Belt

• Gareth Martin

Junior 2^nd Brown Belt

•   Theresa Smith

8^th Kyu Yellow Belt

• Donna Thomas

• Jennifer Nikol

• Desiree Horlacher

7^th Kyu Orange Belt

• Atchara Chumsombat

• Domenic Young

Well done all – the standards were very good.

Also, congratulations to the winners of last term’s kid’s kata competition:

Orange Belt and Below

• Gold Medal – Gareth Martin

• Silver Medal – Nikhil Maharaj

• Bronze Medal – Jared Kelman

Green Belt and Above

• Gold Medal – Theresa Smith

• Silver Medal – Sam Wilkinson

• Bronze Medal – Jelena Downey

Congratulations also go to the red team who won the junior sparring competition – the score was 9-matches to 6.

Karate New Zealand has now been able to confirm that Helena and I will be grading on 28th March at the Deanwell School Hall. The grading will start at 7:00 PM sharp and is likely to go on for about 2-3 hours. There will be no adult training that night but all members and parents are welcome to watch.

Helena and I have been training very hard over the Christmas break, but we are now shifting into top gear in preparation. The grading panel will consist of the following people: Len Monk (7th Dan Shotokan), Bob Dalton (6th Dan Shotokan), Robbie Smith (6th Dan Wado Ryu) and one other person, yet to be named, from one of the Goju Ryu clubs in Auckland.

Last time we graded was in June 1999 – that time, we both passed, in their words, “with flying colours.” Helena and I will, of course, do our very best to repeat that result. We will not know our results on the night, and it may take up to a week before we get to know.

Changing the subject now, we have made some changes to the look and feel of our website – there are several new articles that you may find interesting, new photos have been posted and there is now a page that you can access from the front page called Important Dates – these contain all the important dates for the entire year (2007).

No accounts will be sent unless they are overdue. The fees for next year will remain unchanged at $100 per term for adults training twice a week, $50 for adults training once a week, $70 for kids training twice a week and $35 dollars for kids training once a week. Please pay promptly within the first two weeks of next term.

Those who are not able to pay the full amount at the start of the term can pay weekly – but only after a special arrangement has been made by us, so please approach us about this at the start of each term.

When paying term fees, please make out your cheques to either Helena or I, or cash – thanks!

Remember; if you are an orange belt or above, you must purchase mouth guards and fist mitts in order be allowed to spar.

The dates for next term are as follows:

Monday 12th February – Wednesday 4th April. (We don’t train on statutory holidays).

Cheers and see you soon!