By Rob Serrouya, Revelstoke Judo Club
Revelstoke sent 12 judokas to compete in the BC Open in Vernon on Saturday.
"This may have been our biggest showing at a major tournament," said Sensei Cornelius Suchy.
The tournament was for yellow belts and higher, so it was meant for intermediate to advanced competitors. It was a very exciting day, with several athletes such as Tobin Gill, Clara Kenyon, Jonah Adam, Joe Murphy and Caleb McIntyre attending their first sanctioned tournament.
"It takes guts to stand up to more experienced fighters. All of our first judokas stood their ground, some really exceeded what I would have expected," said coach Suchy.
Caine McCabe, one of the most experienced competitors Revelstoke has, had his best showing of the year, winning all three matches, including two come-from-behind victories, for a gold. McIntyre surprised in his first competition ever, winning two of his three matches against a higher belted opponent.
Lane Sessa, who has shown huge improvement this year, went 2-1 and was robbed of an undefeated record because of an error — the time had actually expired for several seconds before he was thrown. Nonetheless he's been perfecting his moves all season.
Kenyon also had a come-from-behind win against a yellow/orange belt, finishing 1-1 on the day, as did Joe Murphy. Jordan Snider had an even record, going 2-2, enough for a bronze medal, while his teammate Oliver Corley came home with silver.
Ruby Serrouya was placed in a category with a full orange belt boy who was almost 10 pounds heavier, so she had a tough day but fought hard twice against her physically stronger opponent.
Liam McCabe also lost both his matches against a tough opponent. Jonah Adam went 2-1, with a tight loss but was proud of all three of his fights.
Carver Pelletier won two matches and lost one. He pinned his opponent in his first match, making it impossible to escape. The most dynamic throw of the day was laid down by 8-year-old Tobin Gill when he did a major hip throw sending his opponent flying over his back.
"It was a fantastic way to end a season, one of the busiest years our club has seen in its three decades of existence," said Suchy.
The Club would like to end this season by sincerely thanking Columbia Basin Trust, the Revelstoke Legion, the City of Revelstoke, and SD 19 for funding or in-kind support this year.