Sport
15 October, 2024
Judokas’ medal bonanza
EIGHT judokas from the Coral Coast Judo Club in Mossman are making waves in the judo scene after taking silver in the Judo Open Schools Championship and many medals at the QLD International Open in September.
The group of highly skilled teens (boys and girls) ages 10-17 put Mossman in the spotlight after representing Mossman State High School in the Judo Open Schools Championship and taking part in the Queensland International Open from September 20-22 in Brisbane.
The group had second placing out of over 100 competitors from Queensland, across Australia and even internationally.
President of the Coral Coast Judo Club and coach Jeffrey Anderson said it was great for the kids to win and for the club to see them develop into great athletes.
“They’re all very excited, who doesn’t love to win?” he said.
“Being a national event and considering the size of Mossman and a school like Mossman State High School, getting second place is a fantastic achievement.
“The event was held in Brisbane so it was really easy for a club there with lots of members from the same school to flood the competition, so for little old Mossy, with 1000 students, to come home second, it’s pretty good.
“For me, I’m very happy to see them develop their abilities. When they start judo, they’re all rather uncoordinated and inexperienced but they really grow as athletes year by year, it’s been fantastic.”
The club, which boasts approximately 50 members, has been recognised for its excellent junior program which keeps bringing back medals and producing great athletes of the likes of Nanami Anderson Young, who has been three times national champion, and Nikita McDonald, who has also won national titles and competed for the national team.
“The kids train about three times a week, and fitness is up to them, but they focus on it about four times a week because they need to be reasonably fit to compete, so overall it’s about eight to 10 hours a week,” Mr Anderson said.
“It’s quite competitive, they compete individually so if they don’t win they’re always a bit disappointed but they’re also elated when they do win and come home with a gold medal, emotions go all the way.
“We have a training camp running from October 11-13 with a competition on the 12th and teams from Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and Innisfail are also attending and that’s about it for our year before we start training for the big competitions in the south.
“We’re just excited with the results, the kids are happy to win medals.”
Coral Coast Judo Club results:
Australian Schools Championships:
Harrison Schmidt: under-11 open silver medal
Rikki Anderson: under-15 <40kg gold medal
Lilie Schmidt: under-15 <48kg gold medal
Nanami Anderson: young women <52kg gold medal
Nikita McDonald: young women <78kg gold medal
Mitchell Carbis: under-15 <45kg 5th
Julie Anderon, Max Schmidt no medal.
Queensland International Open:
Harrison Schmidt: under-11 open gold medal
Rikki Anderson: under-15 <40kg bronze medal
Mitchell Carbis: under 15 <45kg silver medal
Lilie Schmidt: under-15 <48kg silver medal
Julie Anderson: junior women <52kg silver medal
Nanami Anderson: junior women <52kg bronze medal and senior women <52kg silver medal
Max Schmidt: junior men <73kg 7th.
