Burdock and Barnett boost chances of selection for Junior European Championships (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Burdock and Barnett boost chances of selection for Taekwondo's Junior European Championships

5:50pm Monday 18th March 2013 in Sport

Quest Taekwondo students competed at the German A-Class Open tournament in Hamburg.

The tournament was the first of three qualification events for eligibility to be selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior European Championships in Portugal in September.

A-Class is the highest standard that any club competitor can enter. The event attracted more than 1,200 competitors from 60 countries from around the world, including top athletes from the GB national team, USA, China, Turkey and Russia.

Silsden’s Natasha Burdock, 15, who is a member of the GB junior development team, won two matches before losing in the semi-final to Russia to claim bronze.

Baildon’s Jacob Barnett, 16, who is also a member of the GB junior development team, won two matches before losing in the quarter-final to Moldova.

Sixteen-year-old GB junior development team member Harriet Akeroyd, from Skipton, lost in the last 16 to the USA.

The competitors were coached by Rick Simpson, from Silsden, who is the head coach of Quest Taekwondo’s Bradford area, which covers clubs in Silsden, Keighley, Bingley, Cottingley and Baildon.

Coach Simpson said: “They didn’t need to win these selection events to qualify for the European Championships – they just need to compete and show the Great Britain coaches what they can do on the highest stage.

“Natasha and Jacob performed really well, better than their competition for places in the European Championships.”

The two remaining qualification events take place in Spain and Austria, in May and June respectively.