Judo Yukon sent a team of martial artists to Winnipeg for the Manitoba Open 2024 on Oct. 26-27, marking the first national circuit tournament of the season.
Six Yukon judokas returned from the tournament with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal.
Jaymi Hinchey powered through the competition, winning a gold medal in the under-21 women’s category and a bronze in the senior advanced women’s category. Huxley Briggs earned gold in the male under-18 category.
Kaylee Fortier took home gold in the Ne-waza category, which focuses on grappling and submissions, skills, holds and strangles.
Penny Prysnuk, Judo Yukon’s competitive development coach, told the News that the medalists’ achievements could help them compete at higher levels. Since the tournament was sanctioned by Judo Canada, it contributed valuable points necessary for moving forward in competition.
Judo Yukon started the season with interprovincial training in Vernom, B.C. The opportunity provided participants with a chance to consider their performance and what their goals are for the upcoming tournament, according to Prysnuk.
Judo Yukon has the Sask Open Tournament scheduled for January 2025. Prysnuk spoke about the sport as being fast-thinking and requiring mental agility.
Prysnuk also mentioned that Judo Yukon will have a couple years to train the next group for the Canada Winter Games.
She expressed that the group were very eager throughout the training in B.C.
“They were quite proud of themselves, and they're really eager to go to the next tournament there. They were very pumped and excited, so they were feeling pretty good about their results,” Prysnuk said.
Judo Yukon applies for funding at the start of the year, and some of the higher-performing athletes receive Sports Yukon funds, Prysnuk said.
Like in other combat sports, athletes must meet certain weight divisions to compete fairly. Prysnuk mentioned that the Yukon judokas she coaches follow a meal prep routine to stay within range as part of their training.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
