JUDO: The new judo season got off to an excellent start for Samurai as they took six medals out of six at the Heart Of England Championships in Birmingham.

Sally Moon was the club’s leading light, winning gold, while the club secured five bronze medals.

Tom Walker, 19, led the way for the Kidderminster-based club despite being his first time in the senior category.

Last year’s junior champion started off with an explosive maximum point throw in his first contest.

Walker saw off a defensive-minded opponent in his second match, before two more wins booked his place in semi-finals.

Against a London-based opponent, Walker lost out after a trip but bounced back to win the play-offs for bronze.

Charis Hancocks fought in the senior and junior sections. Despite being up against British internationals in the senior section, she did well to win bronze.

In the juniors, the Samurai fighter added a second bronze, secured with a spectacular throw in the play-offs.

Despite being twice British Champion, Emily Watson looked a little nervous as she started in the youth lightweights.

She soon got into gear and added a fourth bronze to the club tally, with her strong groundwork a particular feature as she turned her Scottish opponent over in her last win.

Twins Rachel and Sally Moon were the last up to compete. Both started excellently with two maximum point wins out of two to put them both into the semi-finals.

Rachel lost to a London fighter but bounced back to win bronze, while her sister reached the final and used a firm groundhold to win the bout and clinch the title.

In addition to the players, Samurai chair Sarah Newbury and her son and the club’s events manager Ben Newbury ran the event expertly. Samurai also fielded four other senior table officials and four of the referees.