Haul just the start for Inverness mixed martial arts juniors
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A SQUAD of HMAC Inverness junior athletes claimed a total of 20 medals across two events last weekend.
Between the Allstars Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Elite International Open competitions, HMAC took home nine gold medals, eight silver medals and three bronze medals.
Three athletes earned two gold medals over the weekend.
Gabor Pasturczak had the most successful weekend out of HMAC’s squad, winning three gold medals.
Naomi Pasturczak and Fraser Mackay both reached the top step of the podium twice, with Mackay also bringing home a silver medal on top of that.
Niamh Ross won one gold and two silver medals, while Archie Davis earned one gold, one silver and one bronze.
Effie Maclennan put in consistent performances across the board to take home three silver medals.
Finally, Adam Macrae won one silver medal and two bronze medals.
The success shows that the work HMAC have put in to develop new opportunities for youngsters in mixed martial arts is paying off.
Gym owner Ross Houston, himself a former world champion with Cage Warriors, says junior classes are been something he has put a lot more focus into, and he is looking forward to seeing the rewards for a long time to come.
“We’ve got some exciting things coming up in the new year with the youngsters at the club and a lot more,” Houston, currently signed to one of the world’s top MMA companies Bellator, said.
“We didn’t really put too much emphasis on juniors and teens before, but we’ve done that recently and that’s blowing up.
“Right now we have a high level of adults, but the results you’re going to see coming out of HMAC in the next 10 or 15 years are going to be great.”
Junior participation is not the only area Houston is looking to improve on at HMAC.
Going into 2023, he has big plans for the gym, and he is keen to see more women continuing to take up martial arts disciplines too.
“We’ve seen a big increase in ladies coming along to HMAC,” he added.
“We brought on board a female instructor called Francesca Marchetti – she teaches a mixed class, but having a female instructor with good people skills has attracted a lot of ladies to that class.
“Other than that, we’re just keeping our head down and working hard, offering the best that we can.”
