St Andrews karatekas shine at the Ekurhuleni Karate Federation awards

Karate-ka from the Goju Kai St Andrews Karate Academy cleaned up at the Ekurhuleni Karate Federation 2022 WKF all-styles awards.

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The following dojo members were awarded Ekurhuleni colours: Mikayla Alves, Cristiano Coelho, Emily du Plooy, Connor Falls, Connor Hundermark, Tyler Kabali-Kagwa, Chloe Keartland, Tayla Murray, Gugulam Ndebele, Phumelele Ngwenya, Praneel Ramjee, Jesse Sim, Mathew Soares, Niven Soman, Gabriella Toweel, Arnoldus van der Merwe, Stefan van der Merwe and Kate Ward.

Development karate colours were awarded to Aidan Falls, Cameron Holthauzen, Deidre Loots, Lillian Loots, Knowledge Obada and Prayan Ramjee.

Sensei Jesse Sim was voted as Ekurhuleni’s senior sportsman of the year, while Senpai Connor Hundermark was voted as Ekurhuleni junior sportsman of the year. Gabriella Toweel won Ekurhuleni’s junior sportswoman of the year.

Sim has been unbeaten in his kata division this year in South Africa, winning gold at the Karate South Africa senior nationals, the Arnold Classic, the two Karate South Africa League Championships and the Karate South Africa Elite Championships.

Outside of South Africa’s borders, Sim has competed internationally, winning gold at the Botswana Open and the AUSC regional championships, making him the southern African all-styles kata champion.

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The highlight of the year for him came at the Commonwealth Championships held in Birmingham, England, where he won a gold and two silver medals.

He represented the South African team three times in 2022 on the international stage.

Together with his teammates Sensei Bongi Ngwenya and Sensei Bradley Ho-Tong, they have dominated the senior men’s team kata division in South Africa, winning gold at the Karate South Africa senior nationals, the Arnold Classic, the Karate South Africa Elite Championships, as well as the KSA League Championships in Cape Town.

Internationally, the team of Sim, Ngwenya and Ho-Tong placed second at the AUSC regional championships, and their crowning achievement was winning gold and silver medals at the Commonwealth Championships in England.

Sim also competed internationally at the WKF Series A Championships held in Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia.
Senpai Connor Hundermark also had an exceptional year in 2022, representing South Africa three times on the international stage.

He won the boys 12-13 kata division at the Karate South Africa nationals, crowning him as the SA champion for this year.

He went on to win a bronze medal for kata at the KSA League Championships in Bloemfontein, a bronze medal at the Arnold Classic, a bronze medal at the KSA Elite Championships and a silver medal at the KSA League Championships in Cape Town.

Hundermark was selected for the junior national karate team which competed at the AUSC regional championships where he won the 12-13 boys kata division.

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He was also selected for the junior national team which attended the WKF Youth Cup in Croatia.

His final international tour was with the junior national team that attended the Commonwealth Championships in Birmingham, England, where he won a bronze medal for kata in the boys 12-13 division.

Hundermark, together with his teammates Phumelele Ngwenya and Tyler Kabali-Kagwa, have dominated the boys’ team kata division at every championship so far, where they have been ranked first at every competition this year.

Gabriella Toweel also had an outstanding year on the karate stage, twice representing the national karate team internationally.

She won a bronze medal for kata at the KSA National Championships, a gold and a bronze medal at the KSA League Championships in Bloemfontein, two gold medals at the Arnold Classic, a gold medal and two silvers at the Ekurhuleni Festival of Karate, two gold medals and a silver at the KSA Elite Championships, and a silver and bronze medal at the KSA League Championships in Cape Town.

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Toweel was also selected for the junior national team that competed at the AUSC regional championships, where she won gold in the 10-11 kata division, making her the southern African champion.

She was also selected for the junior national team for the WKF Youth Cup in Croatia, as well as the team for the Commonwealth Championships in England, where she managed to get through five rounds and ended fifth out of 33 competitors.

Toweel, with her teammates Jazmin Turton and Chloe Keartland, are also the undisputed champions for 2022 in the girl’s team kata division.

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