- The karate teams of Universidad de Santiago won the first places in women and men categories in the championship coordinated by the University National Federation of Sports, a sports organization that depends on the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities.
- The complete victory of the students who competed became an unprecedented milestone in this type of sports competition, as this is the sixth consecutive time that Universidad de Santiago wins the first place, something that no other higher education institution has done before.
- The karatekas accomplished this unprecedented feat after prevailing over renowned institutions with a strong tradition in sports, like Universidad de Chile, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María and Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, among others.
- According to Mario González, the coach of the karate branch of Universidad de Santiago, the key is the excellence of those who make up the team. “They are strong-willed. They are 100% Universidad de Santiago.”
On October 11th, the University National Championship of Karate for women and men, FENAUDE 2015, took place at Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. The best specialists in this sporting discipline representing the universities of the National Council of Rectors (Cruch), gathered together at this competition.
The women and men teams of Universidad de Santiago won eight gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze ones, showing their excellence and the importance of sports as part of student training.
In the men category, the team of Universidad de Santiago got 40 points, far from the closest competitor, Universidad de Chile, on 26 points.
Women, for their part, won the first place with 44 points, with a difference of 29 points over Universidad de Chile.
Besides, our university won the team women and team men categories for the sixth consecutive time, something completely unprecedented in this type of competition.
According to Mario González Faúndez, coach of the karate branch of the university, these results are “extremely positive”. He explains that, although the group of sport men and women wanted to continue with the triumphs that the university enjoyed the previous years, “This year the competition was much harder and they had to win all the matches.”
González adds that one of the merits of the group is that they have learned to adapt themselves to the changes every year, when some of the members of the team leave because they complete their academic training in our institution.
“We have won a university national championship for the sixth consecutive year, with six different teams, because they change every year,” Gonzáles says.
He says that, in this regard, their success has been based on the policies that our university has on sport matters, like the outstanding sportsmen/women special admission.
“The university showed that it has the talents and the ‘raw material’ required because of the good selection of sports talents at this special type of admission. First, they are students, and then, sportspeople, so they are even better. Their commitment is the hallmark of the team. They are strong-willed; they are 100% Universidad de Santiago.”
Fair play
Javiera González, a student at the Bachelor’s Program in Physical Activity Sciences, and Jorge Acevedo, a student at the Master’s program in Management and Public Policies of the Faculty of Administration and Economics, were awarded as the best sportsman/woman of the competition, for their uprightness and “fair play” at fighting.
Mario González highlights that “Both of them were impartially chosen by the referees. In the case of women competitors, although there were girls of Universidad de Chile and Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María who are part of the national team (of karate), Javiera stood out for her ability to apologize to others when she committed a foul.”
In the case of Jorge, “There were bouts that he won after 20 seconds, just by scoring points and without needing to hit or harm the opponent,” he added.
This way of behaving during competitions is “What happens everyday in the karate branch,” González says. “There are many youngsters who start from scratch and begin to train and to compete representing the university, and others who have a karate background, since their dojos, and know what it is about.” Therefore, “During training sessions, there is a mixture; there is a mystical relation between those who know and those who are learning.”
For example, Alejandro Mellado, a bronze medal winner in the past Santiago 2014 South American Games, is part of the university’s men team and he trains together with the new members of the karate branch and helps them to improve every day.
“Alejandro Mellado practices together with youngsters who do not know much about karate, because they have just started with this sport and he is interested in teaching them when they make mistakes,” González concluded.
Translated by Marcela Contreras
