Juteau and Harris

Edmonton, May 19, 2019 – Sunday was the third and last day of the Canadian Open Judo Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. The Butterdome of the University of Alberta saw the senior athletes battle it out to win the remaining national titles.

This year’s edition saw numerous young athletes having success in an older category, like Isabelle Harris (-63 kg), from Abbotsford Judo Club, in British Columbia. “It wasn’t easy today, because it was my second day fighting, so I was sore and tired,” she said. “I had a little more trouble getting into it at the beginning, but the level was about the same as yesterday, and it went better as the day went by.” It was a fifth participation at Nationals for the 17-year-old, but a first experience in the senior category. She’s planning on going home to rest and heal minor injuries before the Canada Cup in Montreal at the end of June. “I’m going to have to keep working hard in training, because winning doesn’t mean I’m perfect, and it doesn’t mean that they won’t win next time!”

Gabriel Juteau, from Club de judo Boucherville in Quebec, won the honours in the -73 kg category. This was a very satisfying medal, knowing that he switched from -66 kg to -73 kg this year. “I had won the gold medal in senior a few years ago, but in -66 kg. I was very happy to see I could still win in -73 kg,” he commented. “I started off a little slow, but it’s always like that, and the final was the fight I felt the best and the most confident.”

After two days in second place, the province of Quebec was finally able to catch up with Alberta and be first on the medal count once again. Their lead is slowly getting smaller, but for now, their crown is still intact.

Go to judocanada.tv to see the complete results of the tournament.

The Organizing Committee, a Well-Oiled Machine

Kelly Thornton, president of the Edmonton Organizing Committee, was very happy and proud to see the results of his team’s hard work over the last few days. While he was a member of the organizing committee in Calgary for the past 3 years, it was his first time as the president, and he feels lucky to be surrounded by such a fantastic team.

“Some members of the committee were also there for Calgary, so we were able to use all their feedback to improve the experience in Edmonton. The venue was great, the lighting allowed for some phenomenal pictures, the bleachers were close to the mats so the crowd could really see all the action. I’ve heard nothing but good comments from everyone during the weekend,” he said.

“The amount of work accomplished by the committee members and the volunteers is impressive. It’s a big event, and we always want to add new things to make it a little better than it was before. We had some core members from last year’s committee who also were here in Edmonton, especially Allan Sattin. He was the Chair in Calgary, and he was a great help to fix any issue we might have. We also had a really good working relationship with Judo Canada. They have been really busy working for the Montreal Grand Prix, but they were still available for us whenever we needed them, and they really stepped up to the plate when they got here.”

The Canadian Open Judo Championships will be in Edmonton for another two years, with the next edition being on May 14-17, 2020.

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Written by Sarah Mailhot for Judo Canada

Information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org