Judokas from across the Yukon gathered in Whitehorse on Feb. 17 for the Golden Horn Judo Tournament.
Hosted by the Golden Horn Judo Club and held at Golden Horn Elementary School, the tournament also included participants from Shiroumakai Judo Club, Northern Lights Judo Club, Hiroshikai Judo Club and Carmacks Judo Club.
Michael Bellon, sensei for the Golden Horn Judo Club, said the 62 competitors ranged in age from six to 14 years old.
“We’ve got a lot of new kids joining,” said Bellon. “We’re basically starting at six years old, so it’s quite a learning experience. The beginners just do ground work so we don’t risk having them start off standing.”
The transition to standing starts happens once judokas earn their yellow belts, usually after one to two years of training.
This tournament gave not only the judokas a chance to test their skills, but also the referees.
“We’re building up our referee pool in the Yukon,” said Bellon. “It’s better to have more referees because people can’t always show up. It’s not all down to a few people always refereeing.”
Bellon said there was recently a referee clinic and some of the junior judokas and teenagers took the opportunity to do some training. This was their first chance to referee in a tournament setting.
Next on the calendar for Yukon judokas is the Carmacks Judo Challenge in Carmacks on March 3.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com
Golden Horn Tournament Results
U8 — 23 kg
1 Davio Hanneke
2 Reily Koss-Young
3 Liam Pottie
3 Robert Botca
U8 — 26 kg
1 Bartok Lonsinski
2 Kaitlyn Jobin
3 Arthur Creamer
U10 — 23 kg
1 Corvus Johnstone
2 Arielle Bergeron
3 Kolton Bellmore-Mayer
3 Lucy Wrixon
U10 — 26 kg
1 Caiden Cruickshank
2 Jorja Bellmore-Smarch
3 Collin Charlie
3 Granite Davis
U10 — 29 kg
1 James Irving
2 Parker Stanley-Lyslo
3 Gabriel Martin
3 Eddie Schneider
U10 — 32 kg
1 William Pacaud
2 Hudson White
3 Samuel Fearon
U10 — 35 kg
1 Jesse Irving
2 Felix Hebert
3 Miley Staples
3 Charlie Todd
U10 — 38 kg
1 Damon Tonner
2 Brianna Bohnet
U12 — 30 kg
1 Clovis Bergeron
2 Olivia Vanheel
3 Liam Saunders
3 Connor Wiltse
U12 — 33 kg
1 Kenai Bryden
2 Liam Gishler
3 Zander White
U12 — 36 kg
1 Andrzej Benson
2 Jada Wheeler
3 Eva Skookum
U12 — 39 kg
1 Wiktoria Lonsinski
2 Brandon-Lee Chiasson
3 Damon Tonner
3 Tyanna Skookum
U12 — 45 kg
1 Dominick Watt
2 Kelise Fields-Birckel
U12 — 50 kg
1 Vivian Blanchard
2 Livia Mortimer
U14 — 42 kg
1 Artur Lonsinski
2 Jason Mackay
3 Anya Bellon
U14 — 52 kg
1 Alexis Fields-Birckel
2 Angelina Byers
U14 — 55 kg
1 Dalton Penner
2 Lucas Bellmore-Mayer
3 Gebz Argao
U14 — 60 kg
1 Ashlan Norquay
2 Jaxon Champagne
