Five athletes from the Williams Lake Judo Club competed in the Prince George Judo Tournament last weekend on April 9 nabbing several medals.
“It was a great day with five medals,” said Williams Lake Judo Club Sensei Jeff DiMarco.
Jaeden Wilson, who Jeff said was quite nervous competing in his first tournament, won gold in the boys under-nine years of age division with two wins and one loss.
“Even though he lost a match, the person who beat him also lost a match to another competitor but Jaeden had more points overall so he won the gold,” Jeff said.
Georgia DiMarco, competing in the girls under-nine category, took a silver medal winning one match and losing one match.
Jeff, in the senior men’s division, won four fights for the gold.
Jeff said he got lucky in his last match with an opponent who could have beaten him.
“But it goes that way sometimes,” he said.
Andrew Thiessen and Dean Demers competed in the same weight class and division, both competing in three fights.
Thiessen took one match and lost two matches for third place and Dean, in his first tournament, won all his matches decisively, despite nerves, to come home with the gold medal.
Judo competitions are normally organized by weight, age and belt levels so competitors are usually grouped fairly.
“The Prince George tournament is a good, local tournament and is always well run and we try to get as many competitors to it as possible,” Jeff said.
“Our season is now winding down, with juniors finished at the end of April, but the seniors will carry on for another month or so after.”
The Williams Lake Judo Club’s new season will start up again in September.