KATE Walker confirmed her status as the country's top young judo star in her weight category by retaining the English Senior Open Championship title in Kendal with a superb performance.

The Samurai Judo Club star sliced her way through the early rounds in the under-63 kilogram section to power to the semi-finals.

She then overcame a defensive opponent to make the final, where she defeated a tough competitor from Edinburgh with a maximum point throw.

Samurai students tested their skills at a grading, with Andy Marston defeating all the top black belts to take another big step towards the third level dan. He need only pass his theory to obtain the level.

Katherine Lloyd-Jones gained her senior top brown belt with a carefully controlled display, while Brett Evans also moved to top brown after winning all of his contests.

Sue Hancocks overtook her two daughters in the grade charts with a fine performance that clinched top blue belt.

Geoff Mills and Matt Pugh both obtained their top green belts and there was plenty of success for Stuart Lane's Wednesday night senior intermediate group as Emma Beddoes, Bill Harris, Mark Murphy and Matt Byrne all got orange belts, each winning contests with some good throws.

A good weekend was capped with the news that Amanda Curley passed her refereeing exams to add to the impressive list of the club's qualified referees, already the longest such list of any judo club in Britain.

For details about starting judo or information about the Samurai club and its activities, telephone 0776 1122977 or visit the Samurai website on www.samurai.org.uk