More than 80 judokas participated in the Carcross Judo Tournament in Carcross on Dec. 2.
There were 35 categories, including the “Judo Knowledge” division which has not been in place since 2015.
Clubs, which participated in the competition came from Faro Judo club, Marsh Lake Judo, Golden Horn Judo, Hiroshikai Judo, and the two clubs from Whitehorse - Shiroumakai and Northern Lights Judo.
Aaron Jensen, Judo Yukon vice president and tournament coordinator, said the competition was a success, with more kids than expected. He said it’s a good sign as far as the growth of the sport in the territory is concerned.
Jensen said the judo season starts in September and runs through to the end of May.
“We have local events, as well as we have a high performance team that we travel out to events quite a bit on the Canadian circuit.”
He said the Carcross event is a developmental tournament and doesn’t follow standardized categories.
“We basically just group them by age first, and then depending on their age, we’ll sort them again by male, female, and then into close weight. We try to keep within 15 per cent of body weight differences for safety and then we just kind of go from there.”
In the U8 mixed knowledge category, Amber Belling from Faro came first, Eli Magill-Hyde from Northern Lights Judo came placed second while Seirra Robinson-Brown from Hiroshikai Judo came third.
In the U10 mixed knowledge, Laila Knopp-Cullen and Bridget Sheridan from Shiroumakai Judo placed first and second respectively. Max Davis and Lainie Richardson from the same judo club jointly shared a third place.
The U12 mixed knowledge category had Phillipe Lefabvre from Shiroumakai Judo in first place and Ryan Lariviere from Northern Lights Judo in second place. Odyn Johnson from Golden Horn Judo and Summer Robinson-Brown from Hiroshikai Judo shared a third place position.
For the U14+ mixed knowledge category, Alex Lariviere from Northern Lights Judo secured first place, while Kippen Briggs from Shiroumakai Judo had second place. Granite Davis and Laurick Correveau from Hiroshikai Judo finished third place.
In the U8 Newaza (ground work) mixed 26kg category, Laszlo Beirro from Shiroumakai Judo placed first, while Johnson Griffen from Golden Horn Judo, Potter Mason from Northern Lights Judo and Charlie Ristau from Hiroshikai Judo shared a second place.
“It was very encouraging to see the number of kids at the event and the level of judo was excellent as well, especially when you get to the older ones that are a little more experienced,” Jensen said. “It’s all about learning and development and having that experience for the younger kids and we’re trying to make it a fun experience for them. It’s not about being competitive, even though most of them do take it as if it’s a serious competition. But it’s really meant to be just just for fun experience.”
He said they are always trying to promote judo in the territory, noting that older, more experienced judokas help with the coaching and development of the younger ones.
Jensen said the next Judo Yukon event will be the Northern Lights shiai competition planed for Jan. 20 2024 at the Elijah Smith Elementary school gymnasium. Doors will open at 10 a.m with the first match by 11 a.m. He said he expects it to be a larger event.
He commended volunteers and sponsors who made the events possible, including Rob and Tonja Hinchey, Brooke Davis, Isabelle Corriveau, Megan Anderson, Beverly James, Lotteries Yukon and the Carcross Recreation board.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com
