The Barbados Judo Association hosted their 16th International Judo Tournament on Saturday 26th November, 2016 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. This year’s tournament theme was “JUDO Gotta Love it”, and from all reports, that sentiment was shared by athletes, officials and patrons. Proceedings started promptly at 10.00 am with the parade of teams featuring one hundred and four athletes from the five particpating delegations.
Following introduction from Master of Ceremonies – Marsha Lougheed Paige, remarks were received from Professor Hoskins Caddle 7th Dan – President of the Barbados Judo Association, Mr. Steve Stoute – President of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. and His Excellency Teruhiko Shinada – Ambassador of Japan. The audience was then treated to an extraordinary and original presentation from Poet – Adrian Greene. The championship was declared offically open by Professor Caddle.
Competition commenced shortly after and it was evident from the opening contests amongst the 5-6 year old athletes under 19kg that the event was going to be unique. There was intense competition amongst the judokas who displayed a range of techniques and tactical skills, resulting in ninety-nine percent Ippons overall. This high level of competition was evident in both the senior and junior weight categories.
At the conclusion of the tournament Barbados regained the first place trophy amassing fourteen gold, sixteen silver and twelve bronze medals. In second place was Martinique fourteen gold, eleven silver and three bronze medals while third place went to Guadeloupe with eight gold, four silver and three bronze medals. Fourth and fifth place went to Trinidad and Tobago and Bahamas respectively. The Ippon trophies were awarded to Kristopher Paige (Barbados)- Male and Vaena Keclard (Martinique) – Female.
Following the tournament on Saturday, a Caribbean Judo Association Training Camp was held on Sunday 27th November 2016. This camp was conducted by Professor Ian Weithers 6th Dan(Barbados). The focus of the technical camp was Fundamentals of Mat Skills .
The Barbados Judo Association would like to extend a sincere thanks to all who assisted in making the event a resounding success.
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