February 2nd - Journey Out Report

Posted 2nd February 2010

A very early start for the English Karate Federation Junior Squad all meeting up at 5.30am at Heathrow. The squad checked in and then went through to departures and very soon boarded their flight. The flight went fairly quickly considering it was 3.5hrs but we only had 45 mins to get to our connecting flight! We got through passport control after 35 mins, got to the gate on time and boarded. The flight was then slightly delayed due to the weather typical! 45 minutes later we landed in Izmir as did some of the other countries teams participating in these championships.

Once at the hotel the squad were allocated their rooms and met up half an hour later for a debrief from Wayne Otto OBE on what is expected of the squad and the plan for the week. After the debrief they all went into the restaurant and enjoyed a plea sent meal.

Tomorrow the squad will meet up at 8am for breakfast (a lie in!) and then have a couple of light training sessions within the hotel from around 11am. Later on the National Coach will register the athletes at the HQ hotel. The squad although quite tired after such a long journey, are buzzing and eager to get down to business. This competition has come so quick after the Worlds in Morocco - most want to get onto the mat as soon as they can.

We hope to bring you some pictures and further blogs tomorrow.

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