HARROGATE'S national karate champion Matthew Price, 4th Dan, has brought his karate club back from the North of England Championships with five golds, three silvers and seven bronze medals.

The annual championship, held at Barnsley Metrodome, is the toughest of the Karate Union of Great Britain's regional championships.

Granby High School based Harrogate Shotokan Karate, along with sister clubs in Boston Spa and Leeds (known collectively as Leeds Karate Academy), won all the senior kumite (fighting) titles.

The club's three instructors - Matthew Price, Nick Heald and Randolph Williams - were all unable to compete in the individual events as they are international fighters, so it was down to their students to fight for the individual titles.

Duncan Randall won the men's kumite (fighting) title for the fourth time in the last five years. Matthew's wife Maria Price won the ladies' kumite (fighting) title, with team mate Gemma Nightingale taking the bronze. Maria was second in the kata (set form) event.

Matthew Price, Nick Heald, Duncan Randall and Guy Noble won the man's team kumite (fighting), beating Ashington in the finals.

Harrogate successes in the children's categories were Amanda Walters winning the girls' kumite (fighting) title with team-mate Katherine Finlay in third place, while James Wyatt won the children's kata (set form) event with Julia Smith in fourth place.

Dan O'Carroll was second in the junior 18-21 years' kumite (fighting) event and Chris Pullan second in the junior 16-17 years kumite event. Jamie Bending and Michael Barratt won bronze in the boys' kumite event. Ryan Kinghorn won bronze in the ippon kumite (one-step fighting) event.

The junior team kata (set form) of Jordon Probst, Ryan Tucker and Luke Elliott, was fourth.

"It is fantastic to see so many of my students doing so well," said Matthew Price. "To come back with so many medals from one event is amazing."

He will be captaining the England team next month in the European Shotokan Karate Championships in Cyprus. Duncan Randall has also been selected to compete at the European Championships.

All interested in starting karate can contact Matthew Price on 01423 549618.

Updated: 12:15 Thursday, November 21, 2002