ISLAND AMBASSADOR BLOG

Speedway Racer

Speedway Racer, Jack, recently completed some demo races on the Island.

He won all his races, apart from the one where he forgot to top up his fuel, so his bike cut out at the start line!

Jack has a couple of mainland competitions coming up very soon!

Well done and good luck Jack!

Junior Showjumper

Junior showjumper, Rubi recently travelled to Sussex to compete in the Sussex Championship Show in the British Show Jumping classes. 

Rubi took two ponies with her, Porsche and Mabel. Both ponies came away with double clears, placing in the top 10 in all of their classes, and 1^st place for Mabel in the discovery class.

It was a great show before Rubi attends the Championship Finals in Stoneleigh next month.

Well done Rubi, and good luck in your next competition!

Jiujitsu Athlete

Jiujitsu athlete, Corey Kent recently travelled to Surrey, to compete in the Surrey Open.

Corey’s opponent in his heavyweight division showed up with an injury, so unfortunately, he was unable to participate in that division.

However, he competed in the blue belt open weight absolute division. Corey won by an armbar within the first 8 seconds in the first match! He won by a cross-collar choke from close guard in the second match within the first minute.

Well done, Corey!

Freestyle Dancer

Freestyle dancer Isabel recently travelled to the mainland to compete in the Hampshire Freestyle Dance Championships.

Isabel had an amazing day, winning the U18 Freestyle Championship Fast Solo category, the U18 Freestyle Championship Slow Category, and then taking home the Overall Hampshire Champion of Champions for 2024 where the winners battle it out for the title!

Well done, Isabel, what a fantastic day!

Dancer

Jess Burfitt, dancer, travelled up to Canterbury for the So You Want To Dace? National Finals, having previously qualified in the Regional Heat with four solo pieces.

Jess had some amazing results, placing 1^st in jazz, 1^st in contemporary, 3^rd in lyrical and 4^th in commercial. This is especially rewarding as Jess was dancing in the intermediate category and is the youngest dancer against other competitors up to two years older than her! 

She was really proud to receive the overall highest-scoring intermediate solo of the competition with her jazz solo, The Way You Make Me Feel.

Jess will now take a break from competing but will keep busy training for her return in September for the new Season!

Well done Jess, We can’t wait to see you back in September!

Jiujitsu Athlete

Jiujitsu athlete, Corey Kent recently travelled to Poole to compete against a fellow blue belt opponent in the Natsu Basho Challenger at the Natsu Bashō BJJ Festival.

Corey won his match by submitting his opponent with a kimura within the first 3 minutes of the 10-minute match earning himself a bit of cash and adding another medal to the collection.

Well done, Corey!

Dancer

Jess Burfitt, dancer, recently travelled to compete in the Dance World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic.

Jess was selected to compete as a soloist, representing England in the children's contemporary category, which was a win in itself, as there were many entrants, all scoring over the qualifying score.

In Jess’s category, there were 89 finalists from all over the world which was the biggest category in the competition with the most entries in any World Cup so far.

Jess danced beautifully and placed 20^th in the world!

This is an outstanding achievement for Jess and one she will remember forever, dancing on the world stage with the best dancers from around the globe.

Competing in the Dance World Cup is at the height of Jess’s success so far and she is now back to training to prepare for the new season in September.

Well done, Jess!

Freestyle Dancer

Freestyle dancer, Isabel recently competed at the World Freestyle Championships in Blackpool to compete against the world’s best Freestyle dancers after qualifying back in February.

Competing in the under 18’s Championship category, after five rounds, Isabel finished in the top 10 in the world as a semi-finalist.

Well done, Isabel!

Dressage Rider

Dressage rider, Esme, was previously selected to ride for the South and West of England at the British Dressage Youth Inter Regionals. The event recently took place at Arena UK near Lincoln.

Esme and Franky placed 4^th and 6^th in her classes with scores of over 91% resulting in 6^th overall.

This was Esme’s biggest competition to date and such a big achievement at just 10 years old.

Esme rode two beautiful tests with the judge’s comments saying, “they were a pleasure to watch”.

Esme and Franky are now enjoying a well-deserved break at home on the Island!

Well done, Esme and Franky!

Sled Racing and Showing Team

Julie Platt and her Wightflight Siberian Huskies attended three competitions throughout the month of June.

First, they attended the Three Countries Championship Show in Malvern where Tattiana placed 2^nd in Puppy Female. Maddison moved up to the adult classes and placed 2^nd in Post Graduate Female, but the star of the day was four-year-old Lacy (Wightflight Einich) who placed 2^nd in Open Female and was also awarded Reserve Best Female in Breed.

Next, Julie travelled up to Preston in Lancashire for The Blackpool Championship Show, this time with four girls. All four girls were awarded top three placings. Maddison laced 3^rd in Yearling, Robin placed 3^rd in Post Graduate, Lacey placed 3^rd in Open and the star of the day, Tattiana placed 1^st in her Minor Puppy Class.

And lastly, Julie and the same four girls headed somewhere a bit more local, the Windsor Championship Show. Tattiana placed 2^nd in Minor Puppy, Robin placed 2^nd in a competitive Post Graduate Class despite having moulted most of her coat in readiness for the heatwave, Lacey was awarded 1^st place in Open and unfortunately, Maddison was unable to compete as her breeder was the judge!

Julie is so proud of her girls for consistently placing in their respective classes. All the ringcraft training is really paying off as they are all performing very well.

July is already looking like a busy month with three shows booked in.

Another busy month next month with three shows booked.

Speedway Racer

Speedway Racer, Jack recently competed at Smallbrooke Stadium on the Island.

He had a great night, placing 2^nd, 1^st, 1^st, and 1^st, dropping only 1 point, scoring 11 out of a possible 12!

Well done, Jack!

Pro-Kitesurfer

Over the past 6 months, pro-kitesurfer, Tom Court has been travelling around the world for competitions and events.

Back in May, he attended Aruba Hi-Winds, the biggest water sports evet in the Caribbean. With over 190 competitors at the high-energy event, Tom placed 1^st for the Kite Hydrofoil discipline!

To kick off the 2024 season, Tom headed to the GKA kitesurfing world cup, this time in front of the camera as the official commentator of the World Cup live stream production. He also attended a wing foil world championship event.

The summer months are super busy for Tom, and we can't wait to hear what he gets up to!

Dancer

Red Funnel sponsored dancer Jess is set to take the international stage, preparing to compete in the Dance World Cup in Prague next week.

12 year old Jess trains at MLD Studio and qualified for the children’s contemporary section as a soloist for the England team up against hundreds of others her age across the country.

Jess has been a Red Funnel ambassador for two 2 years, allowing her to train off Island and compete nationally.

Good luck Jess! We can’t wait to see you bring home the silverware.

Junior Showjumper

Junior showjumper Rubi Harper recently travelled to the Chard Equestrian Center in Somerset with her two competition ponies, Porche and Mabel, where they took part in the British Showjumping National Amateur Second Rounds. 

Qualifying for this competition was a big achievement, requiring four double clears for each height class on each pony to take part. 

On the first day of the competition, both girls jumped clear in the first round, however Porche unfortunately knocked a pole in the second round. Mabel continued to jump clear, taking 2^nd place in her class, qualifying for the British Novice Final.

On the second day of the competition both girls finished in the top four of their class, Mabel in 2^nd and Porche in 4^th, qualifying for the British Discovery round at their next competition. 

Rubi will now compete in three classes at the National British Show Jumping Championships held at Stoneleigh in August.

Rubi and Porche also qualified for an extra class at the next competition after finishing 7^th out of 202 riders in the British Show Jumping Regional League. 

Well done Rubi, what an amazing weekend!

Singer

Singer, Rhirhi has a busy couple of months coming up!

First, she is set to play, for the fourth time, at the Isle of Wight Festival on Sunday 23 at 12.30pm at the Platform 1 stage.

Rhirhi is also set to perform at Wootton Bridge Party in the Park on 6 July at 7.45pm.

As well as this, Rhirhi is set to be releasing some new music very soon!

We can’t wait to hear all about your upcoming performances and new music!

Autistic Juijitsu Athlete

Jiujitsu athlete, Corey Kent recently travelled to Brighton to compete in the 24/7 Brighton Summer Open at the Hilton Metropolitan Hotel.

Corey competed in 15 matches with an impressive 12 wins!

3 matches in the Nogi division – 1^st

3 matches in the Gi division – 1^st

2 matches in the Sub only Nogi division - 3^rd 

4 matches in the Gi absolutes division – 2^nd 

3 matches in the Nogi absolutes division – 2^nd 

Corey decided to challenge himself, both physically and mentally by deciding to compete in 5 divisions. It was a busy day for Corey, jumping between three mats with three different rulesets as all three divisions were running at the same time. Corey missed out on gold in the last three divisions due to running on low energy against solid opponents.

This was the toughest competition Corey has experienced and he’s proud to have pushed himself to his limits!

Well done, Corey, what a day!

Autistic Jiujitsu Athlete

Jiujitsu athlete, Corey Kent competed on the Island at GG’s Restaurant in the Island-based martial arts event, Island Fight League 3. 

Corey competed in a single grappling match against a higher belt opponent and dominated the majority of the 6-minute match, though due to the ruleset of needing to win by submission, the match was declared a draw.

Corey was also invited to compete in a Superfight on Collision Invitational I Portsmouth against a very skilled and experienced blue belt. Corey won the match by judge's decision after a highly competitive and gruelling 10 minutes.

Special Olympics Athlete

Special Olympics Badminton Player, Clint Gardner, known as Pixie Gardner on the court recently had a successful match in Kent winning three golds and one silver.

Gold – Men's singles

Gold – Men's doubles

Gold – Team rally

Silver – Team skill

Well done Clint!

Tennis Player

Junior tennis player, Toby recently boarded an early Red Jet to head to the Portswood Tennis Club to play in the Hampshire men’s double league.

This was a fantastic victory for him and Ventnor Tennis Club both winning!

6-2, 6-0

6-1, 6-1

Toby’s trying hard to continue to play tennis while studying for and sitting his GCSEs.

Well done, Toby!

Autistic Jiujitsu Athlete

Jiujitsu athlete, Corey Kent recently attended the Sportsdock in London to compete in the English Open Nogi Championships.

Corey competed in two matches in the Blue Belt heavyweight division where he won the first match with a score of 4-3. Then he went on to win the second match by submission which meant he won the whole division to become the English Open Heavyweight Champion!

After his victories, Corey took the opportunity to sign up for the open weight absolute division. He had to fight in 4 matches to win this division, winning the first 3 by submission, then the last match of the day by points (9-2)! Meaning he came away as the Absolute Champion of 2024!

Well done Corey, what an amazing day!

Sled Racing & Showing Team

Julie Platt and her Wightflight Siberian Huskies were busy throughout the month of April.

First, at the Isle of Wight Canine Association monthly match, Tattiana was awarded Best Promising Puppy.

Next, Julie and the Huskies attended the Working and Pastoral Breeds Association of Wales Championship show, where puppy Tattiana came third in her minor puppy class at just 6 months and a few days old. Maddison also came second in the post-graduate class.

They then travelled across the country to Stoneleigh, for the Siberian Husky Club of GB Champion show where 12.5-year-old Sparky won Special Veteran Dog and his daughter Lacey was awarded 2^nd in Open Female.

And most recently, Julie and the girls travelled to the West of England Ladies Kennel Society Championship show where all three dogs came home with a prize. Pup, Tattiana won Minor Puppy Female, Maddison placed third in Yearling Female and then the star of the show, Lacey, won Open Female and Reserve Best Female in Breed. This award counts towards her Show Championship title which is what they are aiming for!

Well done Julie and the huskies!

Gymnast

You may remember that junior ambassador, Liberty Lee, gymnast, scored so highly at the Hampshire Grades competition back in March that she was invited to compete in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Regional Finals held in Portsmouth last weekend.

Liberty was the overall gold medalist in her group and is the new Prep Grade 1 Southern Regional Champion!

Her coach and her family are all so proud of her excelling at the biggest competition she’s ever been in, competing against the best young gymnasts from the South of England.

Well done, Liberty!

Competitive Dancer

Dance superstar Jess travelled over to the Supreme Dance Competition in Somerset, with each of her two solo performances landing her 1st place!

She also entered the ‘dance off’ which is an audition-style challenge, with the winner determined by an expert judging panel. Her commercial style routine saw her bag another 1st place. Well done and well deserved, Jess!

Dressage Rider

Last weekend, Junior Ambassador Esme attended a British Dressage competition on the mainland. She competed on adorable 5 year old Franky, owned by a local dressage rider, achieving two great scores and winning her second test!

The scores Esme achieved will contribute to qualifying for this year’s championships, which is very exciting. We can’t wait to see how Esme progresses! 

Junior Speedway Rider

Jack Scully-Syer, junior speedway rider recently travelled to Scunthorpe to compete in the first round of the Scunthorpe Summer Series.

Jack competed in four qualifying heats with mixed results, however, he scored enough points to progress to the final where he took 1^st place! 

Well done Jack, we can’t wait to see more!

Showjumper

Last weekend, Rubi Harper, showjumper, competed at the Blue Chip Championships at Addington Equestrian Centre.

Rubi rode four competitive rounds with positive feedback but unfortunately knocked a pole in her class.

Well done, Rubi!

Autistic Jiu Jitsu Athelete

Corey Kent recently competed at the NAGA United Kingdom Championships in London. 

Wanting to push his limits and progress in his belt and skill level, Corey challenged himself by competing in the Expert Nogi division where he faced a purple belt in his first match with a score of 6-0 in his favour! 

Facing a competitive black belt in the finals, his competitor beat Corey by just 6-4 after the full six minutes!

Next, Corey competed in the blue belt Gi division, where he won all three matches! He won the first match 2-0, then won his second match by submitting his opponent with a straight ankle lock within 3 minutes and finally, Corey won the finals of this division by submitting his opponent by an armbar in the first 19 seconds of the match!

Finally, he competed in the blue belt Gi absolute/open weight division where he had two matches, winning the first one with 19-0 in Corey's favour, then winning the finals by submitting his opponent with a straight ankle lock within 5 minutes of the match.

Overall, Corey came away with:

Silver in the Expert Nogi Division

Gold in the Blue Belt Gi Division

Gold in the Blue Belt Gi Absolutes

After seven matches, six victories, two medals, and a lovely championship belt for winning the absolute, Corey came home a winner!

Tennis Player

Recently, Toby made his way to the Winchester Tennis and Racquet Club to compete in the Winchester Open Tournament.

He reached the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on the clay.

Suffering from a heavy cold, he did so well in the semifinals, keeping pace with his opponent!

Well done, Toby!

Autistic Jiu Jitsu Athlete

Corey recently competed at the AJP TOUR UK London International Championship 2024 at The UEL SportsDock in London.

Sadly, he lost his only match in the Gi against a solid opponent and ended up receiving a default silver medal.

Fueled with determination after the Gi match, however, Corey swiftly won his Nogi match within the first 20 seconds with a Kimura (joint lock submission). Although Corey was ready for the final Nogi match, his second opponent had withdrawn due to an injury, granting Corey the gold!

Junior Speedway Rider

Jack Scully-Syer finally had the weather on his side and he was able to attend a practice night at Smallbrooke Stadium!

Jack rode very well and appeared very confident on his bike, ready for the season to start!

Jack is hoping to take part in some junior races in Kent very soon to prepare for the British Youth Series this season.

Tennis Player

Toby recently ventured to the Algarve in Portugal to compete in the Tennis winners' cup!

He made it all the way to the semis with a 6-0 6-1 win, just missing out on the finals.

Even though he didn’t come home with a win, what an amazing achievement to get to the semis in a European competition! 

Toby was awarded a runner-up medal which was presented by British former tennis player, Annabel Croft! 

Well done, Toby. 

Showjumper

Rubi recently travelled up to Felbridge in East Grinstead to compete at the British Showjumping Competition with her ponies Porsche and Mabel!

With Porsche, she won the British novice class and came second in the British discovery!

Rubi also took part in her first newcomers class on Mabel but unfortunately knocked a pole.

Rubi is currently standing 4^th junior in the South East and 17^th Nationally!

Well done, Rubi!

Gymnast

Junior Ambassador Liberty absolutely triumphed at the Hampshire Grades yesterday, held at Dynamo Gymnastics in Southampton. She was the overall champion for Under 9 & 10 Grade 1, winning Gold medals on Beam, Bars, Range & Conditioning, and Floor; a silver medal on Vault; and Gold overall.

She also scored so highly that she has been invited to represent her club at the Regional Finals in April!

On their return ferry journey, her mum got a sweet video of her being surprised by an announcement about her success. Well done Liberty! 

Tennis Player

Toby recently travelled up to Winchester to play with his monthly county training squad where some of the best coaches are based.

Then they made their way to CourtX in Portsmouth where Toby and his teammate fought in a close battle in doubles and just lost in the finals.

Also, a big shoutout to our Red Jet team for transporting toby’s forgotten tennis shoes!

Autistic Jiu Juitsu Athlete

It was a busy month for Jiu-Jitsu competitor Corey Kent with some pretty tough competition.

First, he competed in the highly competitive South Coast Regional Championships in Poole, where Corey won both of his Gi and No-Gi divisions, each of them by submissions (AKA a tap out), earning himself double gold! 

Next, Corey competed in the Collision Invitational in Portsmouth where he also won by submission.

And lastly, Corey competed in the IBJJF London Open No-Gi Championship at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre where he won bronze in his division. 

Well done Corey, what a great month!

Competitive Dancer

Jess Burfitt recently competed in the, So You Want To Dance? Regional Heat in Winchester! 

She showcased her talent in four solos in lyrical, contemporary, commercial and jazz. 

Jess secured first place in all four solos which automatically qualifies her a coveted spot in the grand finals in July! 

As well as that, Jess was also awarded the highest scoring solo of the competition and was also picked out as a Judges Choice for the competition weekend as well as the knockout challenge winner!

To top it off, this marked Jess’s first competition in the older age category! What an amazing win, Jess!

Showjumper

Last Saturday Rubi travelled to Hascombe Equestrian In Sussex to compete in British show jumping. Rubi had a very quick time on her pony Porshe, taking the win in a very competitive British novice class.

In the discovery class she had a lovely Double clear on pony Mabel, leaving her only needing one more double clear before the end of March, for hopes of getting into the second rounds. Pony Porsche has already qualified for second rounds in both British novice and discovery. 

Alongside this, Rubi has qualified for the Blue Chip Championships in Addington on the 6th April on both ponies. Well done Rubi!

Championship Freestyle Dancer

Freestyle Dancer Isabel recently took part in her first competition of the year where she qualified for the World Freestyle Dance Championships! The Championships will be held in Blackpool later this year, and Isabel will compete representing England.

Isabel qualified for the World Champs with her Freestyle fast solo, finishing runner up in the category, she also performed a slow/lyrical Freestyle solo finishing runner-up and took part in a duet with her sister and placed 3rd! 

A busy day for Isabel with big congratulations in order! Good luck with your next competition!

Gymnast

Gymnast Liberty recently took part in her first competition of the year, facing teams from all over the South of England.

Despite the tough competition, Liberty placed within the top 6 overall for each of her apparatus performances winning ribbons for Vault, Range and Conditioning, and Bars. She also achieved silver medals on both Beam and Floor, Liberty’s combined results putting her in third place overall - winning a bronze medal in the Grade 1 competition!

This was a pre-grading competition for the main Southern Region Grades happening very soon!

Well done Liberty and good luck in your next competition! 

Kickboxing Champion

Island Ambassador Dominic Marsh was recently nominated for the coveted ‘Isle of Wight Sports Awards’ thanks to his dedication to coaching The Isle of Wight Panther Kickboxing club and their subsequent results as a team.

One of his young students Harvey, has also been recognised in the ‘15-19-year-old Sporting Achievement’ category thanks to his kickboxing performance last year.  

Congratulations to both Dom and Harvey for being shortlisted as two of the Island’s top sportsmen, we hope you walk away with the silverware!

Tennis Player

Toby recently travelled to Sherborne Tennis Club in Dorset to take part in an 18 & under tournament. 

Competing in both singles and doubles, Toby partnered up with the son of a former Tennis Professional. Despite narrowly missing out on the finals, Toby secured 3rd place! 

In the singles, Toby won 2 out of 3 of his matches after a long day of competing, only narrowly losing by a tiebreaker!

Well done, Toby on a great Competition!

Showjumper

Last weekend, Junior Showjumper Rubi travelled across to Wellington Equestrian Centre with her ponies Mabel and Porche to compete.

A British Showjumping event, competition was tough, but Rubi is proud to have come away with a rosette for each of her ponies in the Novice class, jumping 90cm.

• Second on Porsche 
• Third on Mabel

Rubi also won the higher Discovery class, jumping 1m on Mabel. Going clear around the course, the pair are then required to jump a speed round to decide the winners of the class. Rubi and Mabel cleared the course the fastest, beating the competition by four seconds in the jump-off and qualifying for the Blue Chip Championships in April.

Well done, Rubi, Mabel and Porsche!

Competitive Dancer

Jess recently competed and excelled at the Ultimate Victory Dance Championships in Winchester which is a high-level competition!

She took home many awards, including…

• 1st place – Lyrical
• 1st place – Contemporary
• 1st place – Modern/Jazz
• 2nd place – Commercial

Jess was also chosen for the Judges Choice Award as well as winning the overall UVDC Teen Title Award. 

Well done, Jess! What a great start to 2024!