Jun 29, 2021

Judo Alberta Regional Training Camps (Edmonton July 9/Calgary July 10)

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time! Judo Alberta is proud to announce Regional Training Sessions in Edmonton and Calgary.

July 9, 2021 Edmonton – Tokugawa Judo Club, 7:00PM-9:00PM

July 10, 2021 Calgary – Hiros Judo Club, 5:00PM-7:00PM

The training session will focus more on technique and ne-waza randori.

Please contact me if you need to have any more information regarding these trainings.

Have a great day,

Ewan Beaton

Judo Alberta HP Coach

By judoab Feature, News

Jun 28, 2021

Technical Stream Yudansha Grading Notice

Hello Judo Alberta Members,

The Judo Alberta Grading Committee is pleased to announce that a Yudansha Grading for technical stream judoka is scheduled for Saturday September 25th, 2021 starting at 10 am at the Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club (2775 28 Ave S, Lethbridge, AB).

All Judoka that are recommended by their Sensei must get their Grading Forms to Judo Canada for approval no later than September 14^th, 2021.

Technical stream candidates will be evaluated in accordance with the 2021 National Grading Syllabus. All candidates must demonstrate the nage waza and katame waza as well as perform their kata at the Grading.

In order to provide time to prepare for the September Grading, a clinic will be held simultaneously during the Competitive Stream Yudansha grading on July 17 in Lethbridge. This clinic will cover the basics of Katame no kata, Kime no Kata or Kodokan Goshin Jutsu; but is not for grading purposes. Technical stream candidates are asked to email Gord Okamura at gyokamura@gmail.com by July 5^th, stating whether you would attend the July 17^th session and which of the three kata you would like to see. It is possible that two kata will be presented, based on the feedback. An update will be sent out once the selection is finalized.

To Yudansha Grading Candidates, in addition to Katame no kata, Kime no kata or Goshin Jutsu, you can attend the Nage-no-kata clinic on the 17th. Kata may also be offered on July 18 morning if interest is expressed. Please email your kata preference to Gord Okamura at gyokamura@gmail.com by July 5th. Thank you. (Amended June 30, 2021)

If you attend the nage no kata clinic on July 17, it will be for training but not for grading purposes. Start time is 9am. Technical stream candidates will perform their kata at the Grading on September 25.

Details regarding the other kata for July 17 will be provided shortly.

Thank you,

Joe Meli – AGB Chair

By judoab Feature, News

Jun 9, 2021

Ryu Senshi Judo Club Receives Jumpstart Sport Relief Fund Grant

SPRUCE GROVE, AB – In February, the Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) announced an additional $12 million dollar commitment to Jumpstart Charities’ Sport Relief Fund to help build back sport and play in Canada.

Jumpstart conducted a State of Sport Study via Ipsos which revealed that the pandemic has not only impacted current access to sport and play but has real long-term effects as well.  The Ryu Senshi Judo Club and the communities it serves have experienced the impact of the pandemic first-hand.

“We recently received confirmation that we are amongst over 500 sport and recreation organizations nationally to be provided with the grant support through the latest round of Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund.  In 2021, Jumpstart’s has already disbursed over $9 million in funding to more than 800 organizations across Canada through Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund.  We are beyond grateful to receive this news and know the positive impact it will have on sport and recreation organizations, and ultimately, on kids across the country.” Teresa Yamada – Ryu Senshi Judo Club Executive Director & Head Instructor.

The Ryu Senshi Judo Club has big plans to put this grant towards club programming, Yamada stated, “With the Jumpstart’s support, we’ll be able to provide our first summer programs!  With the funds, we were able to purchase additional club equipment that will enhance our programs and enable our instructors to better implement required modified instruction when required for participants that are of different skill and learning levels.  Other equipment purchased, such as wall mats and crash mats will increase the safety of our practice area.”

Please let us know if you have any questions and/or if you are interested in connecting.

We are looking forward to hearing from you,

By judoab Feature, News

Jun 8, 2021

Yudansha Grading Notice – July 17, 2021

The Judo Alberta Grading Committee is pleased to announce that a Yudansha Grading Clinic for competitive stream athletes is scheduled for Saturday, July 17th, 2021 from 9:00AM-12:45PM & 1:45PM-6:00PM at the Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club (2775 28 Ave S, Lethbridge, AB).

Instructors for the clinic will be:

• Garry Yamashita
• Gord Okamura
• Kelly Palmer

All Judoka that are recommended by their Sensei must get their Grading Forms to Judo Canada for approval no later than July 12^th, 2021.

Judo Alberta will strictly adhere to the Government of Alberta Covid-19 protocols and we may be forced to once again postpone the Grading.

For non-competitive Judoka, the committee will schedule a kata grading session since attending a kata clinic does not satisfy the judo Canada grading syllabus requirements. This grading session will be scheduled as soon as “covidly” possible. Please stay tuned for more details.

Thank you,

Joe Meli – AGB Chair

By judoab Feature, News

Jun 7, 2021

Mike Tamura to Join International Federation’s Executive Committee

At the 2021 Congress of the International Judo Federation (IJF), Austria’s Marius Vizer was unanimously re-elected as head of the organization. Judo Canada president Mike Tamura was appointed to the organization’s executive committee, while Antoine Valois-Fortier was selected to its Athletes’ Commission.

“I’m honoured by this appointment and wish to pay tribute to all the artisans of Canadian judo. Thanks to their support and dedication in all aspects of international judo, we now have a seat at the decision-makers’ table. I would also like to thank president Marius Vizer for his confidence. I’ll represent Canada with pride,” affirmed Tamura, who will join the executive committee as Sport Director under the leadership of the Czech Republic’s Vladimir Barta, Head Sport Director.

Only two other Canadians have served on the IJF’s executive committee. Frank Hatashita was Vice-President for three mandates in the federation’s early days, and Jim Kojima was Head Referee Director from 1995 to 2001.

Antoine Valois-Fortier will become one of the nine members of the Athletes’ Commission, whose mandate is to serve as a link between active athletes and the international federation. To add to the prestige of this announcement, the London Olympics bronze medalist was nominated by IJF President Marius Vizer himself and approved by the executive committee.

“I’m very touched and proud to be one of the four members selected by the executive committee from among several judokas from all over the world,” stated Valois-Fortier. “I’m at a crossroads in my athletic career, and this will allow me to contribute to the development of my sport once the Tokyo Games are over. It’s a mission that’s close to my heart. There’s a lot of work still to be done regarding post-sports careers and women’s judo. I intend to do my part.”

The Québécois’ four-year term will commence on June 10, 2021. He will work alongside several prominent judokas, including France’s Teddy Riner, two-time Olympic champion, ten-time world champion and current chairman of the Athletes’ Commission.

“Mike and Antoine’s participation in the policy and decision-making processes will greatly benefit the development of our sport all around the world. Their involvement in the international federation is a result not only of their expertise, but also of their dedication and excellent reputations. They should be very proud,” noted Nicolas Gill, Chief Executive Officer and High Performance Director of Judo Canada.

The International Judo Federation was created on July 11, 1951, by the national federations of Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Argentina. Today, it comprises 204 national federations.

Story courtesy of Judo Canada.

By judoab Feature, News

May 26, 2021

You Make the Call Featuring Jennifer Parker

By judoab Feature, News

May 26, 2021

CWG Selection Criteria Update

Hello everyone,

The Judo Alberta HP Coach Committee made revisions to the 2023 Canada Winter Games Selection Policy as a result of the webinar from the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada in April.  We improved the clarity and roles within the document and expanded the outline of the process for the selections.

ATTACHED JUDO ALBERTA CWG LINK: Please read carefully so you understand what the minimum requirements are for qualifying for the final CWG Selection Tournament (Sept/October 2022). The criteria has been built to ensure whoever represents Judo Alberta at the CWG they will have the minimum experience needed to perform at this level of competition.  

Please pay attention to page 17 Appendix 2 in the CWG technical package: Performance Guidelines

Canada Winter Games Technical Package: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pz25o8EtfZpOfVvmN9eSu8DsAL_R525m/view

I understand that many of the performance guidelines are not applicable right now but it is something for you to look at for the 2021-2022 season. I would also encourage everyone to work with your Canada Winter Games potential athletes on some sort of summer cross-training activities – running group, weight training group, circuit training group…..and hopefully some sort of full-contact judo.

U16 Athletes:
44 weeks out of 52 weeks of a year judo training 

Minimum 8 Competitions a Year / Minimum 40 matches 

Minimum 4 Judo Trainings Per Week

3 Cross Training – fitness, strength training, or other sports 

U18 Athletes:
48 weeks out of 52 weeks of a year judo training 

Minimum 8 Competitions a Year / Minimum 50 matches 

Minimum 4 Judo Trainings Per Week

3 Cross Training – fitness, strength training, or other sports 

NOTE: It is important to remember that other provinces’ CWG athletes will all be hitting these performance guideline marks.

In 2019 the majority of the Judo Alberta CWG team was built with athletes hitting these minimums. 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: At this time we are not sure what the 2021-2022 season will look like due to the covid-19 aftermath. We are not sure what the impact will be on plane tickets, hotel cost, buses, competition fees, etc. I would encourage each club to think about fundraising activities for the summer of 2021 to help support the 2021-2022 season. The more that you can raise and save now the better off you will be in the fall. 

If you have any questions regarding the 2023 Canada Winter Games Selection Policy please contact me anytime or Garry Yamashita Judo Alberta CWG Chairperson. 

Have a great day, 

Ewan Beaton

Judo Alberta HP Coach 

By judoab Feature, News

May 6, 2021

Canadian Women & Sport Shares Progress of Alberta Same Game Challenge Organizations

Posted by Canadian Women & Sport

Canadian Women & Sport is pleased to recognize the ten Alberta sport and recreation organizations that have been selected to join the Alberta Same Game Challenge.

The Same Game Challenge helps sport and physical activity organizations to gain a better understanding of how to engage women and girls in their sport, and to find opportunities to improve their organization and programming for everyone involved by the Same Game Online Toolkit. With one-on-one support from local leadership, Alberta is one of the first provinces in Canada to actively support sport and physical activity organizations in the implementation of Same Game. 

Participating organizations include: 

• Alberta Sport Development Centre 
• Calgary District Lacrosse Association 
• Calgary Track and Field Club (Caltaf)- Calgary T
• Canmore Minor Soccer Club 
• Cochrane Cowboys Wrestling Club 
• Community Park Little League 
• Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club 
• Judo Alberta 
• Medicine Hat Minor Soccer 
• WinSport 

The Alberta Same Game Challenge began in January 2021 and will continue through to July 2021 providing participating organizations with opportunities such as: coaching and mentorship, professional development, financial support and knowledge and competency to better understand how to engage women and girls in sport. 

A few months into the programming, Miles Kydd, Executive Director of Alberta Sport Development Centre – Central Alberta, reflects on the progress their organization has had thus far. “Our involvement in the Same Game Challenge project has provided our organization the opportunity to assess and reflect upon our approach to gender equity and provided us significant insight as to how we can serve as change agents for our community. We believe quite strongly that working our way through the Same Game Toolkit will change and improve ASDC-Central as a community service organization and business.” 

“Being involved in the Same Game Challenge has been a tremendous experience for our club as we embark on a journey to promote diversity and inclusion,” says Raine Paul, Head Coach Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club. “Through the Same Game Challenge, our organization has been given the resources, support and guidance to implement meaningful change at our club. There is power in community and collaboration which is an invaluable opportunity the Same Game Challenge has given us as we network and share best practices with our Alberta sports community.” 

“Same Game has given the Caltaf Athletic Association the tools and support to focus on and improve gender equity in our organization. The Same Game Toolkit has been invaluable in providing a road map to success and the support has given us a safe space to learn and grow. This has been a fabulous process and has already created sustainable change in our organization.” Paula Mackenzie, Executive Director Caltaf.

The Alberta Same Game Challenge will conclude in Fall 2021 when participating organizations will have the opportunity to share their learnings and successes of the program.  

Interested in bringing your organization’s Gender Equity vision to life? Same Game Toolkit will walk you through a systematic process for embedding gender equity into your organization – from creating your vision, to implementing initiatives, to reflecting and revising what you have done, and all the steps in between. 

Same Game Challenge Alberta has been made possible with funding from Makadiff Sports. 

By judoab Feature, News

Apr 2, 2021

Christa Deguchi Wins All-Canadian Final

After more than four minutes of overtime, Christa Deguchi beat Jessica Klimkait in what turned out to be an all-Canadian Under-57 kg final on Thursday at the Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey. Deguchi was awarded the gold medal, while Klimkait will go home with silver.

Because Klimkait and Deguchi hold first and third place respectively in the world rankings for their weight class, a tight battle was expected, and that is exactly what they delivered. After four minutes of regulation time, the judokas had received two penalties each, and it was a third penalty to Klimkait four minutes and 18 seconds into overtime that finally decided the match.

“It was a tough fight for both of us,” noted Deguchi. “The referee gave Jessica the penalty, but it could have been me, so I was lucky. I learned from last week’s mistakes.”

During the first half of the bout, Klimkait had some difficulty getting a good grip on her opponent, but she remained firmly on the offensive. However, she was unable to break through Deguchi’s tough defenses.

“I felt prepared and conditioned for this match, but it came down to me making an unnecessary attack at the end, which led to my last penalty,” Klimkait analyzed. “My intention was to deneutralize the situation and attack, to turn it in my favour. I believe Christa predicted this, and was able to defend against it, ultimately leading to the penalty.”

In her earlier rounds, Deguchi clinched two of her three victories by ippon, including her semi-final against Poland’s Julia Kowalczyk, bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships, where Deguchi was crowned world champion. Last weekend, Deguchi earned third place at the Tbilisi Grand Slam in Georgia.

“Last week, I had done too much, so I got tired and made a big mistake in the semi-finals. This time, I was more focused and careful,” said the 25-year-old.

Klimkait, of Whitby, Ontario, won all her earlier bouts on Thursday by ippon, the last of which was against China’s Lu Tongjuan in the semi-final.

“I’m satisfied with some of the things I was able to accomplish in each fight. There are some things I can take away to work on at home, but at the end of the day, I wanted the result to be different.”

Quebec’s Julien Frascadore, the only male competing for Canada today, concluded his day with a 1-1 record. After defeating Cuba’s Orlando Polanco by ippon, he was eliminated in the same fashion in the next round by Gregg Varey of the UK.

On Friday, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg), Isabelle Harris (-63 kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg), Antoine Bouchard (-73 kg) and Étienne Briand (-81 kg) will hit the tatamis in Antalya.

By judoab Feature, News