Gold medallist Cody Dorey, right, attempts to throw an opponent. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0557314)
THE first judo championship to be held in Guernsey for nearly 20 years took place on Sunday.
A total of 40 boys and seven girls stepped onto the new full-size mat at Beau Sejour for the Channel Islands Junior Championships.
The competition was also the first to be organised by the recently formed Guernsey Judo Association, which acts as an umbrella over the island’s three clubs – the Guernsey Judo Club, the Rising Sun School of Judo and Judo Frascati. The sport had gone through a lengthy bad patch and at one point there were no clubs in the Bailiwick.
‘It was another excellent affair,’ said the chairman of the Guernsey Judo Club, Mitch Agnelli, who also a referee at the competition.
‘After January’s grading which we thought was really good, this was even better. The judo was outstanding.’
The two clubs from Jersey – the Jersey Judo Club and Torokan Judo – also sent 19 competitors between them.
The contests were fought over a three-hour period starting with the lightest girls at under-20 kilos and rising to under-73 kilos for the heaviest boys.
In total there were 12 different weight categories and the rules for juniors did not allow any arm locks or choke holds and only permitted throws and holds.
There were a number of excellent performances throughout the day, notably Laurence Plevin who won all three of his bouts in convincing style.
His victory against all the odds over staunch rival Remi Dorey happened in less than 10 seconds when he executed the best throw of the day.
It also cemented his place in the Guernsey squad who will travel to the Hampshire Open in July. He won bronze at last year’s.
The medal tally was spread evenly between the clubs and the next big event on the local judo calendar is the inter-insular in the autumn, which will be the first for 20 years.
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