Supporting Tsunami Southern Tribes Tūwharetoa at the event were affiliate member black belt John Ouano from Los Angeles and black belt Valerie Worthington from Philadelphia. Competitors' family members also travelled over to support the team.
Proficient at both gi and no gi, the competitors entered both sections. Gi is grappling while wearing the traditional uniform and grabbing of opponent's clothing is allowed. No gi is grappling while wearing shorts and a rash guard and grabbing of opponent's clothing is not allowed.
Competing in the juvenile division (ultra heavy), blue belt, Eternity came away with a gold in the gi and no gi and silver in the open women's division while orange belt Te Whetu won bronze in gi and silver in no gi.
Orange belt Te-Ao o Te Rangi won gold in gi. Orange belt Jacob won gold in both gi and no gi. Grey belt Logan won bronze in no gi and silver in gi. Brown belt Tau won gold in both gi and no gi.
Selection for the team was tough. Tau said competitors had to have a New Zealand first, second or third placing. Many sausage sizzles and raffles were held to raise funds then there was training, with the team competing in the week before flying out to the United States.
"In preparation we competed at least a dozen times to make sure we had done enough work to represent our country," said Tau.
He says team is proud of their achievements and is looking forward to the next challenge. Resting on their laurels is not an option for these world champions, with Tau already thinking about training for the February 2020 Oceania Open in Auckland.
Being a world champion doesn't come easy, and Tau says each team member has had their own struggles.
"The resilience each person has shown over the past year helped out."
He says the support from the Tūrangi community throughout the past 12 months has been huge.
"The community is the main reason we got there. I would like to give a huge thank you to the community for all their support."
