Taylah Burrowes. Photo supplied.Taylah Burrowes in action during the Canterbury Classic in Christchurch earlier this year. Photo supplied.Over the past few years Taylah Burrowes has blazed the karate trail.

Now, as the code flourishes in the Mid Canterbury district, her success at both national and international levels has been the yardstick which younger karate participants have beheld.

However it’s early days for the 16-year-old as the sporting outlook remains wide open, given her strengths are not limited to the one code.

Alongside some immense achievements in karate, she is also a key member of the College A netball team, who won the ACL premier netball title last year.

It is karate however in which she has taken the bull by the horns, and is now a key influence among the thriving Ashburton club.

“Our club used to be quite traditional and we weren’t big on competition, and I was the first one in the club to make the New Zealand team,” Burrowes said.

“From then on the competition squad has definitely grown.”

She has also been an integral mentor, instructing and coaching younger members during competition phases.

It is another string to her bow in which her adaptability led her to the Outstanding All Round Sports Person award at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards earlier this year – an announcement which was met with both shock and delight.

It capped off an eventful 12 month period for the Ashburton College Year 12 pupil.

Burrowes clinched gold in the Kumite Female under-16 category at the 2019 New Zealand National Secondary Schools’ Championships before making the step up to win gold at the Australian schools’ event.

“Me and my training partners, we all push each other to be the best,” she said.

“It’s a really good feeling taking out the Australian title when you’re a New Zealander.

“I would say the competition is a lot harder (in Australia).”

Burrowes also completed the accomplishment in Sydney without the guidance of her sensei she had been preparing with.

“There were some New Zealand coaches over there, but I did a lot of it by myself,” she said.

“Not having my coach there was a bit of a scary thing, but it seemed to work out alright.”

The milestones did not end there for Burrowes in 2019, and she has become more adept in juggling her sporting commitments around school work.

She was part of the College A team which toppled a Celtic team who had previously been unbeaten for three seasons in netball’s ACL premier championship.

“That was pretty exciting for us,” she said.

Although the side was more inexperienced this year, Burrowes who is again in the mid-court for College, said the team had greatly improved as this year’s competition had progressed.

“We never expected to improve in such a small amount of time.”

The team completed a thrilling win over its Celtic A rivals last week.

“That was a big moment for us,” she said.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 14 August 2020