Povoa De Varzim. Portugal
25th - 27th October 2002 Report by: EWUF Taolu Director Peter Warr The venue was a small Portuguese town on the northern coast of Portugal, about 20 minutes drive from Oporto. This was the biggest EWUF Championships ever held with 24 countries sending teams, in total 218 athletes, competing in : Compulsory Taolu
82 male
50 female
Sanshou 86 male The competition started with a Taolu & Sanshou Judges course from the 19th to 22nd
October with 43 judges attending.
This was the best attended EWUF Judges course ever run.
Taolu 21 Judges
Sanshou 22 Judges
The Judges course is only open to the National Judges of each country, which have been selected from their own countries Governing Body/Olympic Committee.
The Judges course is a EWUF certificated course. After a four-year period, if the judge has a good judging record they can then be selected for the IWUF Judges course. The Judges course is in four parts: 1 - Rules & Regulations of International competition as laid down by the International Wushu Federation. (I.O.C recognised)
2 - Practical training in the specifics of Wushu.
3 - Written Exam / Video judging
4 - Actual judging at the championships I have organised and run all the EWUF Taolu Judges courses since 1992, and has compiled all the teaching material for the ten compulsory Taolu (routines).
The Judges Course Lecturers were: Taolu Senior Lecturer Peter Warr
Taolu Lecturer They Soon Tuan
Sanshou Senior Lecturer William Nouchet
Sanshou Lecturer Daniel Lomuto & Mike Tanner.
The four British Judges were: Mr They Soon Tuan - Taolu Head Judge - IWUF Judge
Laurence Chapman - Taolu Sideline Judge - EWUF Judge
Mike Tanner - Sanshou Assistant Head Judge - IWUF Judge
Paniko Evagozon - Sanshou Sideline Judge - EWUF Judge
All athletes that participated and did not have a health certificate, had to attend the local hospital for a ECG and health check.
The EWUF Medical Commission has now put forward that each team must have their own doctor in attendance. The schedule of this competition was very busy because in the Taolu format, there was the Old & New compulsory routines, so there were double the events, but the athletes could still only enter for one hand form, one long weapon, one short weapon and exhibition event. This will be the last time that the old routines will be used in competitions. The Sanshou run 10 categories from 52kg to 90+kg.
Congratulations to the fighters, it was the best show of sportsmanship I have seen within the EWUF or IWUF Championships. Wushu in Europe has gained popularity and the standard has dramatically improved in the last four years. There are European athletes that scored 9.38, 9.35 in Northern Taolu and 9.3 in Southern Taolu, these are International level scores.
UK Athletes that go for the team selection and score 8.9 or less should be aware of what their standard would be in Europe. The British team done exceptionally well and they behaved in a way we should all be proud on how they represented Gt. Britain and the BCCMA. A great team spirit was acknowledges by all concerned.
The British Team Placings:
Stewart Beckett Jianshu 1st Gold
Qiangshu 2nd Silver Andrew Austin Taijiquan 2nd Silver
Taijijian 3rd Bronze Claire Griffiths Jianshu 2nd Silver
Nanquan 5th place
Richard McKenna Sanshou 90kg 3rd Bronze
Christian Vine Daoshu 5th Place
Gunshu 5th Place
Changquan 6th Place Edward Gomersall Taijiquan 6th Place
Taijijian 6th Place Steve Coleman Daoshu 7th Place
Changquan 8th Place
Gunshu 9th Place Lee Jobey Nandao 7th Place
Nanquan 8th Place
Nangun 11th Place Tracey Hosey Medal potential had to withdraw from the competition due to a serious knee injury. The Gt. Britain team won : 1 Gold
3 Silver
2 Bronze
6 athletes placed in the top six in Europe Well done the GB team
Important Note It is now a requirement that all athletes from the team are registered with W.A.D.A
( World Anti Doping Association ) and an athlete can be tested for drugs in or out of the competition. Any athlete who does not comply with these regulations will bring sanctions again themselves and their country.
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