This year’s North Island tournament was highly successful for the Academy. It is a testament to the hard work put in by everyone in the build-up.
The competition had 130 competitors registered overall, many in multiple categories.
It was, in many respects the end of an era in Wellington Judo, with Wendy van der Molen helming her last Narth Island competition as Area Director. We thank Wendy for her dedication in this role for the last few years.
The Academy Team: Sergey Arykov, Andrei Bondarchuk, Tijs Boyd, Griffin Burkhart, Cameron Clarke, Hugo Dewar, Nathaniel Elliott, Lucinda Griffiths, Roberta Griffiths, Angus Hall, Dominic Hargaden-Sumner, Silas Keogh, Sparkles MacDiarmid, Alex MacMillan, Kieran Masuda-Morgan, Sean Masuda-Morgan, Finn Moriarty, Isla Morrison, Maisie Morrison, Sam Power, Hayate Sato, Ripley Thurman Ritchie, Alexis Tzeng, Aurie Tzeng.
The Haul:
Gold – Alex Mac, Andrei B, Angus H, Finn M, Kieran M, Sean M, Hayate S, Roberta G, Lucinda G, Alexis T, Hugo D
Silver – Griffin B, Hugo D (2), Sam P, Alex Mac, Aurie, Kieran M, Dominic H, Nathaniel E, Roberta G, Isla M, Sergey A
Bronze – Alex Mac, Sparkles, Sam P (2), Sean M, Kieran M, Ripley T, Alexis T
Gold – 11
Silver – 12
Bronze – 8
Remarkable performances included Alex Mac and Zach Levy of University of Auckland Judo Club who smeared each other all over the mat more than one closely fought bout.
Hugo and Bevan Brooking of Gisborne Judo Club fought their final on Saturday for a total of 10:25 minutes.
Sam delivered a valuable lesson to several of his opponents: never get complacent on the ground. He earned a large number of promotion points toward his Shodan grading.
The Academy is extremely proud of the effort put in by everyone today.
不屈の精神
Hukutsu no seishin
Never, ever give up
