WUKF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS TAKE STEP CLOSER

By Sean O'Connor

LEADING members of the World Union of Karate Federations visited Irvine to review progress in hosting the European Championships.

The event is being held at the Magnum Centre, Irvine, North Ayrshire, in June from the 1st to the 3rd.

Visitors included the WUKF President Osvaldo Messias Olivra and Vice-President Liviu Crisan, who came to meet the organiser  of the event Shona Thorne.

She took them on a tour of the hotels in the town which will be used for dignitaries and competitors as well as to the venue for the event.

They also visited Largs which is the destination for an excursion for the competitors.

Shona told her local newspaper: "The President and Vice President were both very pleased with all our progress so far and we are now all looking forward to the coming months and pulling all the elements of this event together.

"We presented him with bottles of whisky from sponsors Diageo on Friday morning, then in the evening, we hosted a dinner at the Menzies Hotel which was attended by representatives from main sponsors Irvine Bay Regeneration and North Ayrshire Council."

Shona is now looking for locals to help the event become a success. She needs volunteers to be guards of honour, mascots, stewards and language translators.

Anyone looking to volunteer should email:

karate@thornetravel.com

Or visit:

www.thornetravel.com

NORTH EAST FIGHT COMMUNITY BATTLE FOR GIRL FIGHTING CANCER

By Phil Doherty

THE North East fight community is to do battle in aid of a three-year-old girl fighting a rare form of cancer that left her unable to walk.

After hearing of the plight of brave Zara Fort fight show organiser James Casey posted up on Facebook an idea to hold a fight night in her home town of Washington.

Within minutes of his post combat sports groups from across the North of England began offering support to the plan with martial arts publications, top fighters and referees and other fight organisers all pledging help.

They were all touched by Zara's fight against a rare form of cancer called primitive neuroectodermal tumours which mainly affects children and under the age of 25.

Zara as diagnosed after a family holiday in Palma Nova, Majorca, Spain, where she started showing signs of the disease. 

The cancer was found in her backbone and she has had to have part of her spinal cord removed. She is now undergoing chemotherapy for the next three week and after this treatment doctors will then decide the course of action they will undertaken.

Zara's mother is Julie and she has three siblings Katie, seven, Brett, 13, and big sister Terry-Leigh, 15. The family hopes to raise enough money to buy Zara a Shetland pony and give her a trip to Disneyland. Her aunt Paula Forster, of Pennywell, Sunderland, is spearheading the family effort.

Martial arts groups which have pledged support include online newspaper Martial News, which is doing the PR and giving six months of free advertising as a raffle prize as well as supplying its cage girls, MMA Total Combat which is supplying the fighting area, Supremacy FC and Made 4 The Cage which are helping to promote the event, top referee Danielle Curzon who will officiate at the fight night, MMA star fighter and Northumbrian police officer Rob Mills who will compare the event.

Fighters from across the region are joining the card with a high number of female kickboxers and MMA fighters coming forward.

Other groups that are pledging support include Taekwondo and Aikido clubs.

Primitive neuroectodermal cancer are believed to be formed from primitive nerve cells in the brain. It is thought these are left over when a baby's nervous system is being formed in the womb. These cells are normally harmless but in rare cases they form cancerous tumours in the brain or spinal column. 

To join the fight card or help the event phone James on 07917 156930