Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.
Just a quick note to say that after a couple of trial sessions, the Club is proud to offer a Kendo training session at Springfield campus on a Friday.
Please let Michael know if you are wanting to train Friday lunchtime (12–1.30pm) and whether you might require a loan of some equipment so he can pack sufficient gear onto the bus in the morning.
Easter Saturday certainly was damp, but the camaraderie certainly shone through during the inaugural BBRD fund raising barbecue at Bunnings.
We managed to raise a little under $900 profit from the day, which puts us just shy of half way to getting another 10 training mats! We will certainly be looking to run a few more fund raisers this year to continue expanding the training surface.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the day — Melissa, Tracey, David, James, Meg, Brady, Adam, Helen, Greg. Special mention to Peter Whitticker for the loan of the big arse esky. And of course a huge round of thanks to Sian Carlyon who, on top of being there for the full day and taking turns at various roles in the production line, did the lions share of the logistics and materiel organisation for the day — literally could not have done it without you!
Hello All,
I able to offer some tickets in the MJER Sword raffle; there are a few left for Toowoomba. Each ticket is $10.00 and gives you a more-than-average chance of winning; there are only around 90 tickets being sold for this prize. You can call in at the dojo during training times, or contact Adam Brannigan directly for tickets. We are offering a very interesting black-coated live blade with custom furnishings; the one topmost in the image . It certainly is unique. I recommend purchasing tickets soon.
The Headline for this week is that this Saturday, 4 April, is the Clubs opportunity to hold a fund raising barbecue at Bunnings Toowoomba. We need to be staffing the hotplate from mid morning to mid afternoon and will need sufficient people to help out.
We also need to organise sufficient ice chests for the sausages, and a digital thermometer to ensure the meat is kept at safe temperatures. If you have these items, please let us know as it will save use from having to purchase them.
Please let Michael know ASAP if you are able to assist on the day. We will also be adding some colour and movement to give the public a little taste of what we do!
Definitely excited as the countdown to the rescheduled seminar with Andrew has now clocked under a fortnight!
Andrew has promised a jam-packed day, and I hope to see as many of you there as can make it!
Happy New (Club's membership) Year!
April is officially the start of the Club's year, and we will be having the Club's Annual General Meeting in a few weeks, and a separate notice will be going out about that next week. However in preparation, could I ask that all that are intending to train with the Club this year fill out a Membership application form, which can be found by following this link.
You need to be a financial member in order to train with the Club and vote (or be nominated for) the Executive. This year we will be rebuilding the membership database, so please fill out all relevant sections of the form so that we can do so.
I'm looking forward to training with you all throughout this year, and hope to see as many as possible at the AGM when it is called.
Melbourne's Kenshinkan with be hosting the 40th Australian Kendo Championships starting this Friday and extending over the Easter long weekend.
I'd like to wish all competitors the best of luck, particularly the Queensland and, more specifically the Toowoomba-based players and officials heading down— Ryo Atsumi and Randy Le Berhz will be competing and Itakura sensei will be on shimpan duties for the event.
To all officially registered Kendo members, I would also strongly encourage you to vote for the last vacancy on the AKR kendo board. These appointments are for three years and are critical to the promotion and good functioning of kendo in Australia. You should have received a from via the QKR, but if you have not, please contact me to have another sent through. Returned proxy voting forms can be sent to Dave Fitzgibbon at secretary@qkr.asn.au.
There is a very small likelihood that kendo will be on at the PCYC this Sunday, though Michael Ridel will confirm this later in the week.
Wednesday training at USQ will be the last session Randy will get before he competes, so I would like to see as many there as possible to assist him do a final tune up!
One of the new services the Club will be providing members is some the opportunity to list some "classifieds" to be distributed via the Budo Bulletin.
The main things that I would like to see distributed are notices to participate in study-related participation (for instance, I've promised Melissa Pierides to put out a call when she is ready to collect experimental data for her Psychology honours project); calls for to help move house etc.; and, trips/events that members are organising on their own steam rather than being an official Club event.
Listing items will be limited to current financial members of the Club. If you want something that is to be broadcast through the Club's broader network, please send details through to michael.baczynski@bbrd.org.au before 4pm on a Friday.
On a bitter-sweet note, I would like to let the Club's members and friends know that Taekwondo will be on an indefinite hiatus in the Club.
I spoke with Jack Jang this week and he informed me that due to a number of personal circumstances he is unable to offer regular Taekwondo classes for the foreseeable future. One of these reasons is that he is likely to relocate to Sydney within the next few months in order to find work, now that he has completed his studies at USQ.
I would like to extend well wishes on behalf of the Club. Jack has been a key member of the Club for the two years he has been in Toowoomba, and we will miss him on a personal level as well as on a professional level and wanted to remind him that he always has friends and somewhere to train when in town!
I was talking with Itakura sensei on Sunday about Australian University Games Kendo and the USQ players. He is very keen to help develop the squad, but as he rightly pointed out this cannot be done without some regular input from him.
To that end we have decided that a minimum requirement for eligibility to represent USQ will be to participate in a minimum of one Sunday training session a month where sensei is present. We will also be seeing what can be done by way of organising regular trips to Brisbane to train with sensei (which is only fair given his commitment of driving up to Toowoomba every Sunday morning).
In some more USQ Kendo news, I will be taking the opportunity of working at the Springfield Campus on Fridays this semester to see if we can generate some interest in kendo down the hill. One of my co-workers has expressed an interest to once again pick up her shinai after and extended break, and we will be seeing if we can get a few more along — possibly with an eye to expanding the number of eligible USQ kendoka for this year's Uni Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast this year on the last weekend of September.
Keep your comments polite, on topic and succinct. Play nice and everyone benefits!.