The Waterside Sharks Takedown Club badge (suitable for attaching to your Gi) is now available to purchase at a cost of £4.00 from any of the club coaches.

The coaches of the Waterside Sharks Takedown Club would like to congratulate all of the athletes who participated in the NI Open 2008 at Carrickfergus. Details can be found on our Wrestling Results page and the overall picture can be found on the Northern Ireland Olympic Wrestling Association (NIOWA) website - Updates page.

Photographs of the event are also available on the NIOWA website.

Follow our Links section (opposite).   

In a recent development Mike Gallagher, President of the Waterside Sharks, has presented 2 x Cups to the club which will be awarded to the deserving athletes in and around the first anniversary of the formation of the club in May of this year.

The inscription on each trophy reads as follows:

• Michael Shannon - Most Improved Senior - Perpetual Cup
• Michael Shannon - Most Improved Junior - Perpetual Cup

The decision as to who will receive the awards will be made by the coaching staff operating from both sections of the club and the President. 

These awards are open to freestyle wrestlers and judoka alike.

The Championships (12 April 2008) are virtually upon us and now is the time to check that you have purchased a British Wrestling Association (BWA) licence and a Northern Ireland Olympic Wrestling Association (NIOWA) membership, you cannot compete without them!

If you do not have these documents please contact any of the club's officials for advice!

Check out the Links section for the new connection to Koka Kids - a web site developed by the British Judo Association (BJA) - with junior judoka in mind.

This event was held at the Longtower Youth Club on Friday 21 March 2008 and judoka from the club represented primary schools at Eglinton and Mullabuoy.

The coaches from the Waterside Sharks Takedown Club would like to congratulate all those athletes that took part and the final medal haul consisted of 1 x gold, 3 x silver and 4 x bronze (details to follow on the Judo Results page). This was particulary impressive since some members were competing for the very first time.

After a few false alarms the outside broadcasting unit from the BBC finally called with the club on Wednesday 12 March 2008. The purpose of the visit was to interview club coach Jim Toland and captures his thoughts on a year as Northern Ireland's "High Performance and Overall Coach of the Year 2007".

Jim said, " The Coach of the Year Awards process from nominations, through to short listing and the gala ceremony was a fantastic platform for my sport (judo) to gain exposure; and the clubs I work with saw an increase in people wanting to take part. It's a great honour for all coaches who are nominated to be recognised and appreciated for something they enjoy doing".

With regard to this years process a judging panel which includes Stephen Watson of the BBC (Northern Ireland) will announce the names of the shortlisted coaches in June.

Waterside Sharks will be holding a grading for it's junior members on Wednesday 19 March 2008 during the regular session at Drumahoe YMCA. This is an opportunity for all students to improve their belts and everyone is reminded that they must bring their licenses. The session will begin at 6.30pm as usual and will cost £5.00 in total (£2 for and £3 for the grading). Assessment will be carried out by Northern Ireland Coach Jim Toland.

Please remember licenses. You cannot grade without it!

Waterside Sharks are pleased to report that they have hosted their first senior judo grading. Assessment was carried out by Northern Ireland Coach Jim Toland and took place at YMCA Drumahoe on Wednesday 27 February 2008. There was a 'theory' element to the examination and students were then asked to compete for their belt. Of those who graded, Darron McMichael, Gary Gillespe, Simon Kerr and Keith Colhoun all recieved Orange Belts, while Cathar Dixon (a relative newcomer to the sport) earned a well-deserved yellow. This means that most of the seniors have now graded and reflects the hard work and commitment that they have shown since the club started.

In a recent development the NI Closed (Freestyle Wrestling) Championships 2008 have been awarded to the Waterside Sharks by the Northern Ireland Olympic Wrestling Association (NIOWA) and will be held in Londonderry for the very first time.

A date of Saturday 27 September 2008 has been set for the event and large numbers of wrestlers are expected to complete from throughout the province.

The Tournament will be available to both Seniors and Juniors and further details will be posted as and when they are known.

On Monday 28 January 2008 the North West saw the successful launch of another freestyle wrestling club at the Tullyally Resource Centre in the Glendermott Valley Business Park, Londonderry. The club will be known as the Valley Cobras Takedown Club and initially coaching staff from the Waterside Sharks Takedown Club will provide the necessary tuition.

The venture is supported by the Tullyally and District Development Group (TDDG) and our local freestyle wrestling coaches were impressed with the industry and drive of Rachel Lynch, their new youth development worker, who originally spotted the opportunity and helped bring the project to fruition.

Such is the commitment of TDDG to freestyle wrestling that they have purchased a brand new wrestling mat with a 6m x 6m cover. Additional mats (tatami) are being provided by the Waterside Sharks and are considered necessary since in excess of 20 junior wrestlers turned out on the first evening and demand is growing.

The TDDG have also committed themselves to the development of senior athletes and have slashed rates at the Valley Fitness Centre (a fully equipped gym) by more than 50% for those persons who can produce a valid NIOWA membership card for 2008.

The Valley Cobras are a welcome addition to the growing number of freestyle wrestling clubs and it is envisaged that the new club will blend with their neighbours at the Waterside Sharks thus providing a strong partnership and an opportunity for an extra training night.

The Valley Cobras can be contacted at the following E mail address:

valleycobras@hotmail.co.uk

On Sunday 20^th January 2008, Mohammad and Sara commenced the long journey back to their home city of Shiraz in southern Iran. Upon arrival, they will spend time with family and friends and we can expect their return to Northern Ireland at the end of February. We wish them a safe journey and a swift return.

Waterside Sharks are sending a contingent of wrestlers to compete in the Northern Ireland Open Wrestling Championship on Saturday 12 April 2008. This competition will be held in Downshire High School in Carrickfergus. For further details, and information on how to enter, please do not hesitate to contact any of the coaches or committee.

Three senior members of the Waterside Sharks travelled to Manchester recently to receive assessment for their Level 2 Coaching Qualification. Mohammad-Ali, Darron McMichael and Mark Pollin have all passed and are now fully qualified. Their success now means that the North-West have four fully qualified Level 2 Coaches and leaves the sport of wrestling nicely poised to expand into new clubs in new venues. The appointments will also strengthen the pool of coaches Northern Ireland and will facilitate the development of the sport as a whole in this country. The course was held in the British Wrestling Academy in Salford, Manchester. Assessment was carried out by Nikolai Kornieiev, the National Coach of Great Britain.

The dates have been set for the Knockagh Wrestling Camp 2008. The popular three day event will begin on 31 July and will run until 2 August 2008. We are expecting a huge turnout this year and participants will be able to benefit from the excellent coaching of Northern Ireland Coach John O'Rawe as well as the Waterside Sharks coaching staff. For further details please get in touch with any of the coaches or e-mail us at: watersidesharks@hotmail.com 

The Waterside Sharks launched a judo club on Wednesday 7 October 2007. This new club was lauched by NI Judo Coach Jim Toland (5th Dan) and several membrs of Derry's highly-successful Longtower and Pilots Row Judo Clubs. It will meet every Wednesday and full details can be found here.

The Waterside Sharks sent a squad of wrestlers to observe the Irish Open Wrestling Competition on 29 September 2007 in Dublin. Waterside Sharks entered two competitors and both of them recieved medals. Ben Pollin and Connor Quinn recieved silver medals for their well deserved efforts.

The Northern Ireland group proved to be particularly successful on the day with a haul of 18 medals in total (5 gold, 8 silver and 5 bronze). In fact, only one wrestler from Northern Ireland did not recieve a medal after losing a bout due to a very contentious decision.

Members of Waterside Sharks Takedown club recently took part in a Training Camp for Wrestling. The camp was organised by the Northern Ireland Olympic Wrestling Association and participants were treated to three days of intense training from Northern Ireland Coach John O'Rawe. It took place from 9 - 11 August 2007 and there were two training sessions per day. The camp was not all work, however, and each night students relaxed by taking part in organised excursions to go bowling and swimming.