Succes for Edinburgh's young fightres at the Junior British Trials 2009.
On Friday 9th January 2009 a team of junior judo players from Edinburgh Club/Just Judo left sunny Edinburgh in the hope of achieving succes at the Junior British Trials,held at English Indtitute of Sport in Sheffield.The prize for medalling at this highly
prestigious event is a place on the Junior Great Britiain Squad. Because of this, there is no doubting the fact that this is the most competitive and important competition on the calendar for
many -20 judo players all over Great Britain.
For some of our players this tournament was merely a chance to gain invaluable experience at a higher level of fighting than usual. However,for others, it was hopeflully going to be the climax of a gruelling run-up to the most important competition of their lives.
Some of the players in the bus were nervous;some were hungry. However I think it's fair to say that all were extremely
annoyed when one of the fighters forgot their licence and turned
up 23 minutes late for the bus!! (Sorry everyone....)
Accompanying the young team in the bus were James Miller and
Graham Trinder, both full-time athletes training in Edinburgh. Both fighters successfully gained a spot on the Senior British Squad in late 2008 so it was great to have support from such experienced and talented judo players. Eventually (after a little
dispute with the satellite-navigation system) we found our hotel
and (for those of us that weren't watching our weight) thankfully
wolfed down a meal in the restaurant before the competition
commenced the next day.
The following morning everybody got up nice and early to drive
to the arena in Sheffield. After everybody weighed in, the fighting
got underway. Daniel Dunn, fighting in the -73 categoty, got off
to an excellent start after he convincingly won his first 3 contests.
Unfortunately he couldn't overcome his opponent in the semi-
finals and was forced to fight for the bronze medal (which would
gain him a place on the Junior GB Squad). Everything was going
swimmingly; Daniel was winning the contest and comfortably
out-gripping his opponent. Unfortuantely, there was a slight lapse
of concentration on Dan's part and it was all over. 5th place was
not what Daniel came for ,but there was no doubt that he has the
potential to achieve much more in the not-so-distant future.
In the -66kg weight division Reece Calder, the youngest in the
Edinburgh Club/ Just Judo team, was up against an extremely tough bunch of mostly older fighters. Despite losing his 2 contests he fought excellently, showing great determinaton. Reece's judo and strength have improved dramatically over the last year; if he can keep it up at the rate he's been going he'll b e sure to be a contender for a place on the team next year.
Oliver Triggs, in the -81kg category, won 2 fights and lost 2 fights. There were opportunities in both of the fights that he lost that weren't taken and with more training on and off the mat he'll hopefully develop his weaknesses and come out stronger for the future.
Jonny Dewar, fighting at -60kg, put in a superb performance to gain a bronze medal. He looked confident, technically-proficient
and in excellent physical condition. It turned out that all the hard
training paid off for Jonny as he managed to overcome players
that once seemed extremely tough to beat. Congratulations to Jonny for securing his place on the 2009 Junior British Squad!
On a similar note, congratulations must go out to Danae Harris who won her first three contests in the -52kg division to give her a place in the final. She beat some talented players en route to the final which only goes to show how strong Danae ia as a British-level fighter. Unfortunately she couldn't beat the Junior World Medallist Kelly Edwards in the final, but silver medal at such high level of tournament is a fantastic achievement and secures her place as GB Junior No. 2. Jodie Mullen, representing us at -63kg, put in a great performance in a very high rate over the last year or so; she should hold her head up high and look forward to next year!
Many thanks go to Tony for driving us down to Sheffield and back and organising the trip. Also, thanks a lot to Tony, David and BIlly for coaching the team.
Danae Harris: Sliver
Jonny Dewar: Bronze
Daniel Dunn: 5th
Oliver Triggs: 7th
Jodie Mullen: 7th
Reece Calder
Author
Oliver Triggs