Montreal, January 11, 2018 — Olympic athletes Antoine Valois-Fortier, Antoine Bouchard, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and Ecaterina Guica will be amongst the 200 judokas registered at the 2018 Elite Invitational in Montreal on January 13–14, 2018. The event will feature the 8 best Canadian athletes, male and female, from 9 provinces and territories.

They’ll have the opportunity to fight at La TOHU, renowned as one of the world’s best venue for circus arts. 700 spectators will see Canada’s best judokas in action from all angles in the circular venue, all for free. Those who can’t be there will be able to see the tournament via webcast on https://judocanada.tv/.

On top of the 30 national titles on the line, athletes under 18 will compete for $5000 that will be awarded to the top 5 teams as follows:

1rst place: $2000
2nd place: $1250
3rd place: $750
4th place: $500
5th place: $500

Despite being a junior, the Quebecoise Marie Besson is a favourite to win in the 52kg senior category.

“Elite Invitationals are important, because they give more points. They are more important than the regular Canadian Championships. I’ve won every national event in my category this year, so I’d like to win this as well.”

The Dolbeau-Mistassini native can count on the support of a special guest. “My dad, who used to be my coach, will be there. Maybe it’ll give me a little extra push!”

The young Albertan Joel DeMaere (-60kg) will be there for his third participation at the event, and he has a clear goal in mind.

“I really hope to win the senior part of the tournament! It has been my goal since the start of the season, and I’ll be against strong opponents,” said the judoka, who took part in a few international events in Europe in the last few months.

Before this weekend’s rendezvous, DeMeare has spent last few days at the national training centre for a training camp. “I’m really trying to improve my cardio and keep my stamina up to get ready for the event.”

Competition schedule

Information :

Patrick Esparbès
Directeur général adjoint
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org