THOMAS More College’s Connor Harris is the high school’s SPAR Star of the Month.
In February this year, the Grade 11 learner competed in the Karate KZN Provincial championships and placed first in the male 16 to 17 year age group for both Kata (forms) and Kumite (fighting).
Then, in the recent South African National Karate Championships, he competed as part of the KZN Provincial team against the top four competitors from other provinces. He claimed a silver for Kata and gold for Kumite. Connor won all of his fights without a single point being scored against him – a fantastic achievement against strong opposition.
This KSA National Championship was the first national karate event since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and great amount of care was taken to ensure all competitors, officials and judges were safe. This meant screening and regular sanitising was done and everyone needed to wear a mask.
Connor said that while training during the pandemic was difficult, his coaches, Sensei Leonardo Ciutto and Senpai Catherine McKay of Highway JKA Karate Club, were supportive. Connor and his teammates all trained regularly via Zoom.
He started karate when he was six years old and, after 10 years of consistent training, is now a Shodan (First Dan) black belt.
He competes regularly both nationally and internationally and has been awarded his SASCOC Protea colours twice (2017 and 2019), medalled twice in the UFAK Africa zone 6 Championships for both Kata and Kumite and represented South Africa in the JKA World Championships in Ireland. He is currently ranked first nationally for Kumite, and third for Kata in the Karate South Africa National rankings in the male 16 to 17 age group.
At school, Connor really enjoys both outdoor and indoor hockey and is looking forward to training and competing in the brand new TMC multipurpose indoor sports centre. He also plays chess, a newly-formed club that is part of the Thomas More e-sports initiative.
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