Montreal, January 5, 2017  – For only one weekend, Montreal will welcome the country’s finest judokas, assembled for the Elite National Championships, to be held Saturday and Sunday at the Complexe récréatif Gadbois.

Thirty titles will be up for grabs at this very select tournament, in which the only athletes allowed to compete are Canadians who are ranked top eight in each weight class in the Senior and Under 18 years of age categories.

Antoine Bouchard, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, and Ecaterina Guica, all members of Team Canada who were present at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, will be the stars in their categories. Add to this impressive list Arthur Margelidon, who qualified for the Rio Games but had to miss out due to a fractured arm suffered during training. Montreal native Margelidon is back in shape and in fighting form just in time for his second event since his return to competition.

“We are extremely happy to host the event here in Montreal,” commented Nicolas Gill, Judo Canada’s Chief Executive Officer and High Performance Director, who is also thrilled that Olympians will be present at the tournament. “It’s a unique opportunity for the public to see these athletes in action in Montreal. The Elite National Championships are also great preparation for our judokas in terms of getting ready for tournaments in Europe this winter.”

A total of 179 athletes from all across Canada will meet each other on the tatami. “It’s a great example of the depth of the sport in Canada. Judo is very healthy here!” added Gill.

Saturday, competitions in the Senior category will take place, while Sunday will highlight judokas in the Under 18 years of age class. “Sunday we’ll doubtless see some young athletes stand out from the crowd, these athletes are the next generation, the ones to watch during the new Olympic cycle,” added Nicolas Gill.

Gill and Antoine Valois-Fortier, who recently had a hip operation, will be present to describe the bouts and moves on Saturday.

Matches will be broadcast on RDS at: http://www.rds.ca/amateurs/webdiffusion-judo

For more information: https://www.judocanada.org/event/elite-8-national/

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Information: Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
514-668-6279