Club to return to the world stage

Harvey Karate Club had high hopes for this year’s World Cup in London, which would have been held last month if COVID-19 had not forced the cancellation of the series.

The Harvey team consists of five world champions — the most in any Australian club.

Karate instructor Paganini Ursua said it was disappointing to not be able to compete on the world stage this year, however, the team was focused on next year.

It is disappointing to say the least, but we won’t stop training.

The 2020 World Championships would not have been Harvey’s first. The karate students represented Australia in South Africa in 2016.

They performed exceptionally well and collected a clean sweep of medals. Australia won 24 gold, with Harvey making up a quarter of those.

Ursua started his karate club in Harvey almost a decade ago and said his enthusiasm for the sport was still going strong.

“Karate is where my heart lies,” he said.

“It was sad to see the championships cancelled, but we now have extra time to master our techniques and improve our skills.”

The team is preparing to travel to the next available World Championships.