The Judo BC sponsored 2020 Youth Championships, U12 Festival & Petit Samurai at TCC started on Friday night and culminated in a Judo BC Team Workout Sunday morning, January 31 – February 2!

Aberdeen Judo medallists continued to show their mettle, winning gold, silver & bronze medals in their respective age & weight divisions:

• Nicholas Plumtree – gold – U18 -66Kg. division
• Nicholas Plumtree – bronze – U21 -66Kg. division
• Maggie Sinclair – gold – U16 +70Kg. division
• Maggie Sinclair – silver – U18 +70 Kg. division
• Graeme Hanks – bronze – U16 -60Kg. division
• Megan Hanks – gold – Women’s Ne-Waza (grappling only) +70Kg.division

Also competing but out of the medals were Aaron Okano, Ben Sinclair, Payton Marchand & Findlay Patterson.Coaching activities were handled by Sean Kidner, Joe Marchand & Bonnie Cleland. Supportive club parents were also busy assisting with weigh-in, positive self-talk and ensuring the competitors were at their assigned competition mat ready to go!

Aberdeen Judo hosted the first Okanagan Team Training session of the judo season on Sunday, November 17 – a 2-hour morning session and a 2-hour afternoon session.

Participants came from Kelowna, Penticton, Revelstoke, Vernon, Winfield and two Kamloops judo clubs – Westsyde Judo Club & Aberdeen Judo Academy. A number of participants only made the morning session due to other commitments with a little over half staying for the afternoon session & photo.

Promoted at the Judo BC grading board exams in Richmond on June 9 were Megan Hanks & Sean Kidner; both promoted to Kodokan nidan rank (2nd degree black belt).

Megan Hanks passed her Judo Canada nidan exam at the June 2018 grading exams and has now completed her full Kodokan Judo Institute requirements!

Sean performed the five sets of Nage-no-Kata to qualify for promotion to Judo Canada and Kodokan Judo Institute nidan.

Congratulations to both of our senior judoka, plus a thank you to Matthew Hanks who was uke (fall guy!) for both Sean and Megan!

Four Aberdeen Judo competitors competed in the Pacific International Judo Championships held in the Richmond Olympic Stadium on Saturday & Sunday, March 16 & 17. This tournament is the most prestigious tournament in Western Canada and had over 650 competitors from Canada, USA, and Japan. Graeme Hanks and Nicholas Plumtree competed in two age-group divisions, Jessi Melenka competed in her individual age-division and U14 team event. Megan Hanks competed and won gold in her Senior Women’s +78Kg. division with 14-year-old brother Graeme winning his gold medal in the U16 age division. Hard-fought matches by all four of our competitors, . . .more medals, . . .. next time, . .! Congratulations to all for great effort!

Huntley sensei

Aberdeen Judo Academy played host to combined practice/training sessions at Aberdeen Judo Academy dojo, starting with traditional Kodokan Judo for the first hour, followed by Police Judo for the second hour. A group of VPD Force Options personnel were in Kamloops for a 3-day Force Options Development Camp and took the opportunity to partake in a regular practice session with Aberdeen Judo judoka. A presentation on chokes/strangle & arm-locks by Dr. Cleland highlighted the combined practice session! Another ‘extra’ after an all-day classroom Force Options session included taking part in an ‘on-mat’ resistance circuit-training activity! Future combined events are in the works!

Montreal – For the first time in Judo Canada history, two judoka have been awarded a bursary as champions of the Giant Ford Canadian Circuit. Megan Hanks and Shady El Nahas were given a check for $2,500 after their performance on the brand new national-level competition circuit. “On behalf of our staff and management, Sherwood Ford is very pleased to be able to provide funding to two very deserving Canadian athletes. By their success, Shady El Nahas (NTC – Montreal) and Megan Hanks (Aberdeen Judo Academy – Kamloops) have enjoyed the benefit of participating in the Giant Canadian Circuit Ranking Sponsorship,” said Marc Hicks, the owner of Sherwood Ford.

The bursaries offered by Sherwood Ford will help the athletes to reach their dreams. “It feels amazing receiving this bursary, I am very honoured. My season has been pretty good this year as I’ve been on a good winning streak, and also because I just took my first big steps into the big leagues and trying to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2020, held in Tokyo,” said Shady El Nahas. “It’s nice to have support from others. It gives me the feeling that my efforts have paid off, and all my hard work is being noticed.” The 2018 Giant National Ranking was generated using points from Elite National until Canada Cup.

“One of our goals in the last strategic plan was to stimulate growth of our national circuit, and that’s why the Canadian Circuit was created. The sponsorship offered by Sherwood Ford was a key element to increase its visibility,” commented Nicolas Gill, CEO and High Performance Director for Judo Canada.

Indeed, there were over 350,000 views on the national federation streaming platform (judocanada.tv). The mission will continue next year, with the addition of another tournament, the Saskatchewan Open, that will be webcast in October. “We’re happy to announce that Sherwood Ford will be our sponsor again next year,” added Nicolas Gill. “We’re also adding a new tournament that will be webcast live.”

“Participation in the Canadian circuit events exposes all competitors to a high quality of judo, a high-level competition and something to aspire to. No matter your generation, someone you watched motivated you to strive for success in our sport. Sherwood Ford looks forward to continuing support of deserving Canadian athletes and to help motivate participation by all in the lifelong, skill building, sport of judo,” concluded Mr. Hicks.

Competing in the Coupe Canada (Canada Cup), Megan won her matches with full point wins on Sunday, July 1! Over 600 competitors from 20 countries were in action over three days of the tournament, held in the Claude-Robillard Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. This is the first time in 25 years that the resurrected Coupe Canada has been held and a number of competitors who are vying for a spot to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan were in action. Coaching Megan at the tournament was Sandra Hewson 3 dan, a Judo Quebec coach from Montreal who assists sensei Huntley with coaching functions at national and international shiai. Congratulations, Megan!

At the AWARDS GALA EVENT following the Judo BC Annual Conference, Megan Hanks & Huntley sensei both received awards. Megan was presented with the Senior Female Athlete of the Year and Huntley sensei presented with a 20+ Years of Service to the Referee Development Committee certificate. Next morning at the Judo BC Grading Board examinations, Megan passed her nidan (2nd degree black belt) exam with her brother Geoffrey as partner. Congratulations to our hard-working judoka!

Concluding another positive season is the announcement of the following awards to two Aberdeen Judo Yudansha. Because of her recent achievements in winning national competitions - Quebec Open, Elite 8 Invitational Nationals, Edmonton International, Pacific International and Canadian Championships, Judo BC will be presenting Megan Hanks with the Senior Female Athlete of the Year Award at the June 9 Judo BC Gala Awards banquet.

At the same time, Huntley sensei will be presented with a 20 Year Service Award for his ongoing commitment to the Judo BC referee program!

Congratulations to both for their achievements and ongoing commitment to training and instruction in Aberdeen Judo!!

Five members of Aberdeen Judo Academy - Kiara Endean, Nicholas Plumtree and three members of the Hanks family (Megan, Matthew & Graeme) will be competing in the Canadian Judo Championships in the Calgary Olympic Oval on May 19 & 20. As a result of their tournament accomplishments, each will represent Judo BC in their respective age & weight divisions. Coaching will be Brad Endean and sensei John Huntley. Congratulations to each of you!

On Thursday April 5 we had 43 participants (VPD/Kamloops Police Judo/TRU Police & Justice Studies students) on the mat working on aspects of Practical Training and Fitness for Law Enforcement and the Public. The TRU Police & Justice Studies students took a very active part in the afternoon sessions followed by a VPD recruitment session Thursday night at TRU.

On Friday morning, April 6 we had 15 Vancouver Police Department Force Options/Kamloops Police Judo participants working on further advanced applications. This is the first time we have ever had VPD officers (visiting) wearing full duty-gear in the dojo!

Congratulations to Brad Endean for arranging the varied events!

Aberdeen Judo hosted two very successful Zone 2 (Thompson/Okanagan) Regional Team Training sessions on Saturday, January 20. Competitors vying for a spot on the Judo BC team must attend 8 regional team training sessions, plus noted performances at provincial and inter-provincial selection tournaments. Good effort was the order of the day, and many excellent techniques were observed!

Aberdeen Judo joined in an XploreSportz session at Parkcrest Elementary School. Aberdeen Judo participants were Geoffrey Hanks, Megan Hanks, Valerie Prociuk, Nicholas Plumtree, and John Huntley.

Once again, Aberdeen Judo hosted a judo session at the Parkcrest Elementary School as part of the Pacific Sport – XploreSportz summer camp series. Attending the session were Geoffrey & Matthew Hanks, Megan & Graeme Hanks, Nicholas Plumtree, Valerie Prociuk, and Bonnie Cleland. A one-hour presentation of basic judo skills and activities were well-received by the campers!