A message from Mr Lammin 6th Degree, PUMA Squad Coach…

Dear All,

On behalf of the coaching team I hope that you have all had a great Christmas/New Year break and are recharged and ready to go for promises to be a very exiting year for the P.U.M.A. Squad.  Apologies that it has taken me so long to get information out regarding the plans for squad training and tournament for 2016 but unfortunately Yate Outdoor Sports Complex is not currently available for hire and so I have been looking into other options.  Unfortunately at this time I haven’t been able to sort a permanent replacement venue but wanted to get something out to you.

Squad Training / Tournaments

I am pleased to be able to confirm that the first session of 2016 will take place on Sunday 24th at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon from 10:00-13:00.  Please pencil the following dates into your diaries for this years sessions/tournaments which I hope to be able to confirm (along with a venue/venues) in the next week:

• Sunday 14th February
• Saturday 27th/Sunday 28th – P.U.M.A. International Open
• Sunday 13th March
• Sunday 15th May
• Sunday 5th June
• Sunday 12th June
• Saturday 18th June – Holland Cup
• Sunday 10th or 17th July
• Saturday 13th or 20th August **
• Sunday 18th September
• Sunday 25th September
• Sunday 2nd October
• Wednesday 12th to Sunday 16th October – ITF World Cup (Budapest)

** This will be a training day followed by a meal exclusively for those competing at the World Cup.  I am aware that some of you could already have holidays booked but if you can make this day it will of great benefit in being able to provide more individual coaching in the lead up to the World Cup.

In addition to the above International tournaments we hope to attend 1 or 2 non PUMA tournaments in England (including the ITF England Championships which are likely to be early in July).

P.U.M.A. International Open – 27th/28th February

The online entry system is now open and this is a tournament that you should all be supporting.  It has been a fantastic tournaments over the past few years and we’re hoping that this year will be no different.

Holland Cup – June 18th/19th 

The Holland Cup has become a regular event on the P.U.M.A. calendar over the past few years and we will once again be heading to Delft in Holland.  The is one of the best tournaments in Europe in my opinion and a great opportunity to test yourselves whether you are an experienced experienced member of the squad or looking to try a foreign tournament for the first time.  Our intention is to make selections for this tournament soon after the session on the 13th of March to give you time to plan for the trip.

If you are hoping to be selected or self fund for the Holland Cup then you need to be able to commit to make the large majority of the squad sessions between January and June.

The ITF World Cup Budapest – October 10th or 11th – October 17th (these are the likely trip dates)

This is a massive opportunity for all competitors who serious about international competition at the highest level.  The last ITF World Cup held in Europe was attended by over 1,500 competitors and I am expecting this one to be similar or bigger still.

The trip will be 6 or 7 nights (depending on the final schedule when it’s released) and is a chance to test yourself against the best in the World.  Unlike World and European Championships this tournament will be open to blue belts and above and also to younger competitors, ages 12 and up.  This trip is going to take a lot of planning and so I would like you to email me to register your interest if you would like to compete at this event. This will not be a commitment at this stage but I will be looking at taking deposits at some point in the spring which would be non-refundable.  I have already had a look at flights and accommodation and expect the cost of the trip to be somewhere around £600 to £700 to include the following:

• Flights (although you will be booking these yourself when the time comes)
• Accommodation (likely to be on a B&B basis in a hotel near to the centre of Budapest)
• Tournament Entry

If you are a black belt you will need to ITF certified in order to compete at this event and all students will require ITF approved kit and a PUMA Tracksuit (if you do not have this already then I will be happy to sort this for you nearer the time).

We will be offering funding to some competitors nearer the time but even if you are not offered funding then self funding may be a possibility.  We would like to take good sized group over to the event and hope to get together with some of the other ITF England organisations to potentially put some teams together as well.  Please note that this event will be of the very highest level and whilst we are inviting people to express an interest we will only allow students to go if we believe that they are ready for for this level of competition and have showed a high level of commitment to the squad. You also need to be able to commit to making the vast majority of the squad sessions this year.

As always if you have any questions about any of the above then please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind Regards,

Mr. Lammin