NEWSLETTER April 11, 2024

2024 Judo BC Provincial Championships - Northern Sport Centre, Prince George - April 5-7, 2024 - RECAP

Congratulations to all the athletes that competed at the 2024 Judo BC Provincial Championships, held last weekend at the Northern Sport Centre (UNBC) in Prince George. It was a busy weekend filled with lots of judo, plenty of fun, and smiles from ear to ear. Here's a quick recap:

Friday, April 5

Competition began in the evening with the U8, U10, U12 -- with over 80 competitors. Not only did we have many young competitors on the mat, but we also had many of our competitive young athletes supporting as Junior Referees. The day concluded with Kodomo Kata.

Saturday, April 6

Saturday was competition day for the U14, U16, U18, U21, Seniors, Veterans, Novice and Intermediate. The day was divided into 3 blocks, held over 4 mats, with a total of 320 competitors competing. Competition concluded with 488 matches fought and 420 ippons awarded! The day ended with the Kata competition.

Sunday, April 7

To cap off the weekend at the Northern Sport Centre, there was a Provincial practice with over 200 athletes in attendance, led by Team BC Head Coach, Jeremy Le Bris.

Thank You!

It was a great weekend of Judo in Prince George. A big thank you to the North for the warm welcome and hospitality. Thank you to the host club, Prince George Judo Club, and to Aline Strasdin and her team of amazing volunteers. And a thank you to Bruce and Rae Kamstra, Hart Judo Academy for hosting the coaches' and referees' dinner on the Saturday evening.

Photos

Thank you to Russell Thom and Melanie Holliday who have both generously shared their photos from the tournament. Click here and here to view photos.

Full Results and Videos

Draw and Results: 2024 Provincials

Videos: Livestream Videos

Kata: Kata Results

We Want to Hear From You!!!

And lastly, we want to hear from you! At every occasion, Judo BC aims for continuous improvement, endeavoring to create memorable and positive experiences for all attendees. 

We kindly request you to spare a few minutes to complete our brief 9-question survey about the 2024 Provincial Championships. Your responses and any additional comments or concerns are highly valued.

Click here to complete survey.

REGISTRATION DEADLINES

April 12 - Kamloops Ice Breaker Novice Tournament, Kamloops BC

April 12 - Interprovincial Training Camp, Fort Saskatchewan AB, Late Deadline

April 14 - Tristan Alexander Open, Colwood BC, Late Deadline

April 18 - Judo Canada Pre-application Deadline for June 2 Grading

April 26 - Battle of the Peace 2024, Dawson Creek BC

April 28 - Open Nationals Championships, Montreal QC, Regular Deadline

May 1 - Mini Shiai for Adults (U16 and up), Steveston Judo Club, Richmond BC

May 3 - Training Camp ft. Misato Nakamura, Abbotsford BC

Training Camp w/Misato Nakamura - Abbotsford - June 21-23, 2024 - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

On June 21-23, 2024, there will be a Training Camp featuring Misato Nakamura, at the Abbotsford Judo Club. This will be a 3 day, 4 session Training Camp and is highly recommended to all athletes competing at the Canadian National Open Championships in May.

Misato Nakamura is a two-time Olympic medallist and a four-time World Championship medallist from Japan who competed in -52kg and -57kg respectively. To learn more about Misato, click here.

Here is more info about the camp:

Age Group & Level:

Group 1 - U14, U16 (minimum orange belt)

Group 2 - U18, U21, Senior & Veteran (minimum green belt) +U16 with medal at Nationals

Location:

Abbotsford Judo Club

31410 Maclure Rd, Abbotsford, BC V2T 5G6

Schedule:

Friday, May 10

7:00 – 9:00pm: Judo Everyone

Saturday, May 11

9:00 – 10:30am: Judo Group 1

10:30am – 12:00pm: Judo Group 2

2:00 – 4:00pm: Judo Group 1

4:00 – 6:00pm: Judo Group 2

Sunday, May 12

8:30 – 10:00am: Judo Group 1

10:00 – 11:30am: Judo Group 2

Any questions, please contact sdd@judobc.ca.

Judo Canada Women's Self-Defence Instructor Course - Abbotsford - June 21-23, 2024

The Abbotsford Judo Club will be hosting the Judo Canada Women's Self-Defence Instructor Course, June 21-23, 2024. This course is open to both men and women.

Judo Canada's goal is to train instructors so that this new program can be offered across Canada: in judo clubs, in schools, in women's centers, etc.

The program will take place in two parts:

Friday evening - Theoretical (those who have already taken the online training, do not need to take the theoretical part)

Saturday & Sunday - Practical.

TRAINING SCHEDULE:

Friday, June 21, 2024

6:00p.m. - 8:00p.m.: Training - Theoretical

Saturday, June 22, 2024

9:15am - 12:30pm - Practical training 1 & 2 & 3

12:30 - 1:30pm - Lunch

1:30 - 4:30pm - Practical training 4 & 5 & 6

Sunday, June 23, 2024

9:30am - 12:30pm - Training 7 & 8 & 10

12:30 - 1:30pm - Lunch

1:30 - 3:30pm - Review, practice and evaluation / Presentation: diploma & gift

Each participant who completes the course will receive:

• T-shirt
• Subscription to access the technique videos
• Diploma
• Theory notebook
• NCCP development points

Location:

Abbotsford Judo Club

31410 MacLure Rd, Abbotsford BC V2T 5G6 

Minimum requirements:

• be a member of Judo Canada
• brown belt or higher
• be 16 years of age or older

Course fees:

$75. Registration will be open until the number of places is full.

 If you have any questions, please contact mh.chisholm@judocanada.org

Save the Dates!!! Exciting Events are Coming!

Judo BC is excited to announce these upcoming events. Mark them down in your calendar, you don't want to miss it!

HP Summer Camp - August 16-18

The HP Summer Camp will be held at UBC from August 16-18. The HP Summer Camp will get you ready to start the 2024-2025 judo season. There will be lots of judo, fun and fitness testing (yay!). If you're coming from out of town or if you are local and don't want to commute, there will be an option to stay on campus. More information to come.

Girls Summer Camp - August 26-28

The Judo BC Equity Committee is happy to announce that the Girls Camp is back this summer! Woot woot! It will be held at Loon Lake in Maple Ridge from August 26-28. Save this date! More information to come.

MINI SHIAS & INTER-CLUB TOURNAMENTS

Get Ready for the Mini Shiais and Inter-Club Tournaments!

Battle of the Peace 2024 - Dawson Creek - May 3-4

Dawson Creek Judo Club is hosting a tournament for U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, U21, Seniors, Veterans. More information and technical package can be found on the registration page.

Teen-Adult Novice-Intermediate Mini Shiai AND Yuki Yokosawa Clinic - Steveston, Richmond - May 5

Steveston Judo Club is hosting a mini shiai for Novice U18, U21, U21+. Minimum rank is Yellow belt. Novice Categories are Yellow and Orange belts. Intermediate Categories are Green and Blue belts (no Brown or Black belts allowed). This mini shiai will be followed by a 90min. clinic led by Yuki Yokosawa, World and Olympic medalist. More information and technical package can be found on the registration page.

2024 Pacific JETA / Mudo Academy Judo Friendly Shiai - Langley - May 19

Mudo Academy is hosting a collaborative shiai for U8, U10, U14, U16, U18, Seniors. Minimum rank is White belt. White belt will start by default in Newaza (ground work). Maximum rank is Orange-green belt. More information and technical package can be found on the registration page.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Technical Stream Grading in the North - May 11-12 - Prince George, and in the Lower Mainland - June 2 - Steveston

A Technical Stream Grading in the North has been scheduled in the calendar for May 11-12, in Prince George. As part of the grading process, all applicants must submit their application to Judo Canada for pre-approval (March 28 deadline for May 11 grading).

In the Lower Mainland, a Technical Stream Grading has been scheduled for June 1-2, in Steveston. The 45 day Judo Canada pre-application deadline for the June 2 grading is April 18.

For more information on the grading process, click here.

To apply for the Judo Canada pre-application, click here.

NCCP DA/DI Course - June 7-9 - Offered at 3 Locations - REGISTER NOW!

On June 7-9, 2024, there will be the combined course of NCCP Dojo Assistant and Dojo Instructor offered at 3 locations:

Lower Mainland

Odd Squad Police Judo Dojo: 5487 Lane Street, Burnaby BC

Okanagan

Vernon Judo Club: 4895 Bella Vista Road, Vernon, BC

Island

Victoria Judo Club: 27 Maddock Avenue W, Victoria BC

Please check the registration pages for the minimum requirements.

Judo BC has minimum coaching standards and all Head Instructors, Club Coaches and Instructors are required to be NCCP certified Dojo Instructors (Competition Introduction and/or Instructor Intermediate) and complete Safe Sport Training. For more info, click here.

Balancing Act: Navigating weight cutting in sports for athlete well-being - By Kai Harada

This article was written by Kai Harada and was posted on the The Sport Information Resource Centre website (sirc.ca). It offers a perspective on weight cutting, safe practices, organizational roles, coaches' roles. Below is the article:

Weight cutting in sport sounds harsh because it is.

As a U19 national champion wrestler with international experience and a mixed martial artist, I have first-hand experience losing weight in a short amount of time to compete in my desired category. And I can tell you that it is both mentally and physically daunting.  

My most vivid memory of weight cutting took place at a tournament in August of 2022, I had to shed 6 kilograms fast to compete in the 65-kilogram freestyle wrestling category. In order to do this, I had to maintain about 300 calories a day, only being fueled by the caffeine and black coffee. Throughout this process, my coaches and my team did their best to support me through the struggle providing me with low calorie, but effective nutrients, and encouraging rest.  

Looking around, I witnessed fellow athletes going through similar struggles with some even failing to make weight and consequently getting disqualified. To me, this only highlighted the intensity of the process.   

While I was able to successfully achieve the target weight, this experience provided me with valuable insights into the potentially harmful aspects of weight cutting. This practice, which most frequently happens in sports with weight categories such as wrestling, boxing, and rowing, involves rapid and potentially drastic weight loss. It’s often achieved through shedding water weight within hours or days, with the aim of qualifying for a lower weight class. My own experience, coupled with what I witnessed, raised concerns about the impact on athletes’ overall well-being, prompting me to ponder the balance between weight cutting and safeguarding health.  

To address some of my concerns and questions, I went to the experts in both academia and coaching to gain further insight into the issue.  

To read more, click here.

Mental Health: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Elite Athletes - By Lynch, James H. MD

This study was written by Lynch, James H. MD and was posted on the The Sport Information Resource Centre website (sirc.ca). It offers a perspective on the mental health of elite athletes, specifically about how they may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following exposure to severe trauma. Below is the article:

Mental health and mental health disorders affect people from all walks of life. Elite athletes face unique challenges in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with an estimated 1 in 8 experiencing this condition.

This recent study explores the complexities of diagnosing and treating PTSD in athletes, highlighting best practice models for mental health screening and emphasizing the importance of involving the athlete’s multidisciplinary team for effective treatment.

To read the study, click here.

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