European Cup "Assaut" 2001

After many months of hard training the team were ready to do battle, then 'British Rail' decided to call a strike! Undeterred the "Spectrum" members of the team met up at 7.30am as arranged and made it to the next rendezvous point - Waterloo station, Eurostar terminal. It was here that the team became complete joining forces with the CAMA fighters and other "Spectrum" members living in London and Essex.
The full team consisted of :

60 - 65kg	Miss P.Doukliaskou	CAMA
65 - 70kg	Miss C.Morris	Spectrum
65 - 70kg	Miss R.Cooper	CAMA
65 - 70kg	Mr L. Elliott	Spectrum
65 - 70kg	Mr R. Howes	Spectrum
70 - 76 kg	Mr C. Howes	Spectrum
70 - 76 kg	Mr M. Falk	Spectrum
76 - 82 kg	Mr O. Jones	Spectrum
76 - 82 kg	Mr F. Berst	CAMA
82 - 89 kg	Mr R. Jones	Spectrum
89kg +	Mr J. Watton	CAMA
89kg +	Mr D. Pearce	Spectrum
Coach	Mr. M. Ross	GBSF Director of Technique
Judge	Mr. R. Muggeridge	GBSF Secretary

Following an uneventful journey under the channel and across northern France we arrived in Lille.
After a small panic concerning currency problems (Lille is in France and we all had Belgian Francs !) we changed trains and arrived in Tournai, Belgium. A short stroll later we were at "Hall des Sports" the venue, in time and ready for "weigh in" and medical checks.

All the team were the correct weights and all passed the medical checks first time. We were then transported 10km "out of town" to a sailing club with lots of 4 bedded chalets sited beside a lake which became our resting place for the weekend. All the teams were invited to a meal supplied by the Belgian Federation, this was our first real chance to see what nations were involved in the event, Italy, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Swiss, Germany and us. After the meal and social we were informed that breakfast would be served at 7am and the first bout scheduled for 8am at the venue so all our team went to bed early.

After a rushed breakfast and transportation in various cars and minibuses everyone got to the venue, changed into kit and the European Cup 2001 started. Richard Muggeridge settled into his role as "international judge" and was sited on "Ring 4" (where no GB competitors would be fighting). He performed his role well and made many new friends as well as meeting up with many existing acquaintances within the European Savate family. As the whole event had to happen in one day, four boxing rings were setup and the fights were continuous, as one ended the next started. Frequently there were two GB fights occurring at the same time, the team were very supportive of each other in both "warming up and cornering", I thank and "salute" you all.

The very high standard of fighter's was proving to be a problem for our lesser experienced fighter's and wins were not in abundance ! Through a strange quirk of fate Carol Morris (Australian from Spectrum Club) had a win against team mate Rachel Cooper, Pan Doukliaskou (Greek from CAMA) won against Christiane Michulitz (Germany) & Fred Berst (French from CAMA) drew, so all of our success came from non-UK residents. All other fighters fought well and gained valuable experience by competing against the best that Europe can offer.
At 8pm the semi-finals and final fights started, most bouts containing at least one member of the exemplary French team, many of the finals were France vs France. Without doubt the French team are outstandingly efficient, very experienced and fully deserved to win.

The last fight over at midnight, everybody involved in the event was invited to an "evening soiree" at the 747 nightclub. After a drinks reception the whole group had a meal at an adjoining restaurant where each team's national delegate addressed the gathered ensemble to thank the organizer's and other teams etc. From here we returned to our lakeside accommodation and digested the days events, sampled far too many tequila beers and eventually hit the hay at 4.30am, a long exciting, tiring, fun day.

Breakfast at 7am, rooms cleared by 8am and before you knew it we were heading "sleepily" back to Waterloo at high speed, dreaming of success at next years World Cup Assaut in Brussels.

M. Ross.
(DTN for GBSF)

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