Student of the Year Awards 2018

On Saturday at our Whitehaven dojo, we presented our 2018 Student of the Year awards to a packed hall of fellow members, parents, friends and supporters. It is with great pleasure to announce that the junior award was given to Euan Renkin-Chare (3rd Kyu) and the senior award to Elaine Ashford (1st Kyu). 

Our Student of the Year Award has been running since our group began back in 2004 and is considered both a special honour and great achievement.  It is presented to karate students who have shown outstanding qualities and whose commitment, dedication and selflessness act as an inspiration to all other members.

What makes our student of the year award so special is that the final decision is influenced by every member of the group.  Each year, a poll is conducted, along with suitability assessments and a dedicated meeting with instructors at our various clubs. Using this information as a guide, our Chief Instructor makes the final decision. 

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The award is presented "In recognition of displaying exceptional qualities in the dedicated practice of traditional karate, outstanding contributions in support of our dojo and unwavering commitment towards ongoing personal development, standing as fine inspiration for others to follow."

CHARITY DONATION
As part of our awards poll, we also asked members to select a local and national charity close to their hearts. The selections are compiled and placed into a box for one of each to be chosen at random by our new winners.  The two charities will receive a sizeable donation from our Community Fund.

​The charities chosen this year were:

• Siiboo (supporting nursery education in the former British colony The Gambia)
• Amnesty International (supporting humanity and human rights)

More information about these charity donations will be released in a future news piece. 

On behalf of everyone in the group, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate both Elaine and Euan on achieving our 2018 Student of the Year Award and their lifelong induction into our our dojo Hall of Fame. We'd also like to thank everyone who took time out of their day to take part in our awards presentation - your support is always very much appreciated.

Next year for our 15th Anniversary we'll be making some changes to our annual awards presentation and due to our membership growth in recent years, offering individual club accolades alongside Student of the Year. Keep your eyes peeled for these exciting developments!