It has been an incredible night for UCD Karate Club, on Monday the 20th, the members of the club attended this year’s Bank of Ireland UCD Sports Awards 2019. Thanks to the amazing work, motivation, dedication, unity and a truly inspiring team spirit of the UCD Karate, throughout the year, our club was awarded the Club of the Year (Varsity) Award.
Many spectacular performances of our members in this year’s competitions allowed the club to claim the cup and the title in the Dublin Inter-Collegiate Cup, which was hosted by UCD, where we claimed 15 out of possible 19 gold medals, and in the All-Ireland Karate Intervarsities, hosted by DCU, where our club put forward a 22 person team. None of these victories would have been possible without the great amount of coaching by the instructors in the weeks leading up to the event. Their way of teaching is truly inspiring as it is always with honesty, patience and good intentions that they show us how to improve our technique. Our members feel valued trusted and supported, which puts them in the perfect disposition to enter competitions.
Thanks to a proactive committee involvement, UCD Karate is growing as a community and the strong sense of belonging is bringing our members closer together in a supportive environment. Through major events, new initiatives, inter-club activity to name a few, UCD Karate Club keeps improving its already fantastic dynamic. The engagement in voluntary projects, as well as the success in lifting the profile of Karate and sport in general in the wider community shows that the club’s aspirations go beyond the context of university.
UCD Karate club is very proud to have been awarded Club of the Year as it is an individual victory for each member but also and especially a team victory. There is something truly special in the bond that links every member; that is made possible by embracing diversity. Indeed, our members come from different parts of the world, have different cultures but each and everyone of us has found a way to connect through Karate. That is because we share the same curiosity for that unique and pioneer martial art, and art is universal.
