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

Mar 26, 2021

Meishu Monday Featuring Shirin Elmayergi

By judoab Feature, News

Mar 26, 2021

Volunteer Spotlight featuring Sally & Mike

By judoab Feature, News

Mar 12, 2021

The Mental Game for Judo featuring Jimmy Pedro

Register here: https://www.trackie.com/online-registration/event/the-mental-game-for-judo/469045/#.YEub9mhKiUk

By judoab Feature, News

Mar 3, 2021

Judo Alberta Grading Notice

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions in Alberta we have no choice but to postpone the Grading sessions which we were planning for May 29-30 and June 5-6.

For those who have been recommend by their club Sensei’s, please use June 5-6 as the grading date when submitting forms to Judo Canada for approval.

Grading sessions will be arranged as soon as Covid-19 protocols permit us to host them safely.

Thank you for your patience and understanding

Kind Regards,

Joe Meli – Grading Chair

By judoab Feature, News

Feb 22, 2021

FREE Online Junior Referee Seminar

Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIXkS2qhfWaHDdiuxtNop4fqXcfgsISXZSCH23MsZ-mams5Q/viewform

By judoab Feature, News

Feb 11, 2021

NCCP Multi-Sport Module Calendar

Hello Judo Alberta Members,

Please be aware that Alberta Sport does not list all NCCP courses on the Coaching Association Locker unless it is getting close to the registration due date and it is still not full.  All of their sport modules are posted on the link below.  This is important for coaches who were “transitioned” from the old NCCP system to the new one as they need to complete the Making Ethical Decisions (MED) module and do the online MED evaluation.  Here is the link to the Alberta Sport calendar.   

https://albertasport.ca/nccp-module-calendar/

Furthermore, coaches are not supposed to register for multi-sport courses in other provinces unless they get approval from the Alberta Sport NCCP coordinator.   

Thank you,

Judo Alberta

By judoab Feature, News

Feb 11, 2021

Judo Alberta Coach Education Session: Survive & Then Thrive

Hello everyone,

Judo Alberta is excited to hold a coach education session on Saturday February 27, 2021 @ 1:30PM (MT). The goal of the session will be to provide ideas and strategies to help rebuild judo in your area and in your judo club.

Judo Alberta Coach Education Session: Survive & Then Thrive https://www.trackie.com/online-registration/register/survive-then-thrive/468705/

The presenter of the session will be Peter Gardiner from Sportif Scotland. Peter has a wealth of judo developmental/ marketing knowledge and is happy to share some of his thoughts and ideas on how judo can “Survive & Then Thrive” during and post covid-19.

The session will attempt to be an interactive; Peter wants to hear your concerns about rebuilding judo in your club. The deadline has been set for February 19, 2021 so we can provide each participant with an information package and questionnaire prior to the session in efforts to lay a foundation of learning during the presentation.

Cost: The session is FREE / Donation. Judo Alberta is suggesting each coach donate $10.00 to help support the expenses associated with the session.

Presenter:

Peter Gardiner, Sportif Judo Scotland

Peter Gardiner was recognized as one of the best junior coaches in the world when he was invited by IJF Education and Coaching Director Yasuhiro Yamashita to take part in the ground-breaking DVD Coaching Judo to Juniors he later produced the smash hit 101 Judo Games with fighting films.

• Currently Head Coach Sportif Judo

• Currently Coach Educator British Judo

• Professional Judo Coach – 45 years

• Formally National Coach Denmark

• Formally Director of Coaching Judo Scotland • Former National Dev.

Manager British Judo

IMPORTANT:

This event will be worth NCCP PD points. (it is important that coaches gain PD points to maintain their NCCP certification level)

Judo Alberta will be opening the session to the other provinces / judo clubs in Canada because we truly are in this together and we will need to work together to rebuild. (Member of Judo Canada)

Mark Down on you calendar: On March 27, 2021 Judo Alberta will be hosting a Coach / Athlete session with Jimmy Pedro (USA) on mental toughness and visualization.

If you have any questions please contact me anytime

Ewan Beaton

Judo Alberta HP Coach

By judoab Feature, News