20/04/2026
Time for a little update.
Yesterday we arrived back in The Netherlands. We've had a blast in Slovenia. This time no medals for Tim and Rick but they both showed progress and fighting spirit. You can't alway win. Sometimes it's a tiny difference that makes a huge difference in the outcome.
Tim started tuesday with tul againt a Hungarian contender. He did quite well but his opponent took it a little slower and that made it appear more stable for which the judges gave him the advantage.
On wednesday Rick did his tul. Although we thought he did a better job than his Polish opponent the judged thought different and the Polish opponent won with a minor difference in points.
Also on wednesday Tim was up for sparring. He lost his first match against a Romenian contender that later ended up in the 1s place (European Champion). Although Tim lost on points he put up a real fight. Sometimes you're lucky in the drawing, sometimes you aren't.
The same goes for Rick who was sparring on friday. He lost his fight against a Slovenian contender that ended up 2nd in the tournament. Rick got a black eye during training a few weeks earlier and in his match against the Slovenian contender he got a smacked on it again. Painful but Rick didn't quit. He fought like a lion but lost on points.
So no medals this time but that also comes with sports.
Apart from the tournament we had a wonderful time in Slovenia!
Slovenia is a beautiful country with easy going people. Traffic is so much relaxter than in the Netherlands. (by the way, a litre of gas is only 1,62 euro!)
The food is absolutely great and hospitatlity is top notch. If you haven't visited Slovinia yet you should put it on your bucket list 🙂
Next qualification tournament is the Holland Cup end this month and Tim and Rick will ofcourse be participating. If the manage to stay in the national selection we could be going to the European Championships next year in Riccione, Italy (near Rimini).
I'll compile a video of the performances of Tim and Rick and post later this week.
