Hosted by Judo New South Wales and held at the Grand Sports Hall of the Quay Centre at Olympic Park in Homebush, Sydney, the tournament is the largest event of its kind in Australia, with last weekend’s competition attracting over 600 competitors from 20 countries.
Among the medal winners for the Phuket Dojo team were Valentine, who captured bronze in the cadet under 90kg category, while pre-cadet Gabin also secured a bronze medal with a third-place finish in his division under 38kg class.
Additionally, Dojo at Blue Tree Phuket head instructor Alexis Plantard once again demonstrated his class by winning gold in the men’s under 90kg class age group and silver in the open weight over all division.
Falling outside the medal rankings, but still displaying fine performances, were pre-cadets Oliver, who finished 9th overall in under 30kg weight class, and Oscar who finished 9th in under 34kg class.
“It was an extremely tough competition but one that we as a team will take invaluable lessons from,” Alexis told The Phuket News.
“There were some very strong competitors involved in the tournament but we performed brilliantly as a team and I am so very proud of all of my students; to fight at the venue that hosted the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 was a proud and emotional experience for all of us,” he added.
“All the cadets at the Dojo are improving all the time, something that was not only clearly evident in Sydney but in every tournament we enter. We will take confidence from our experience in Sydney and look to move forward and improve even more.
“We will now focus on the rest of 2023 with some very big competitions ahead. The three major ones we will be preparing for are the USA nationals in New York City in early July and the United States International Open in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the end of July, as well the selection for the pre-cadet France national Championships in Paris, France, in November.
“There is a lot of hard work ahead of us before that but we will train hard and be fully prepared,” he added.
Outside of that there is a very busy schedule ahead with further tournaments including: the Singapore Open Judo Championships next weekend (March 11-12); the World Cup of wrestling in Tajikistan on March 18; the Hong Kong National Judo Championships on March 26; the Nakhon Si Thammarat Judo Championships on April 19-22; the European Games in Finland on June 26-27; the World Cup of Wrestling in Romania on Sept 1-3; European Wrestling Championships in Rome, Italy on Oct 10-12; the Jakarta Judo Open Championships on Oct 27-29; the World Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi on Nov 5 and the Malaysia Open Judo Championships on Dec 9-10.
School training camps
Alexis also confirmed that there will be four separate training camps being held at the Blue Tree Dojo facility to coincide with upcoming school holidays.
The camps will focus on teaching judo to newcomers while also embracing broader martial arts such as jiu-jitsu and wrestling.
“The popularity of martial arts is continuing to grow, something that is demonstrated by the ongoing number of new students we receive at the Dojo at Blue Tree Phuket,” Alexis explained.
“Martial arts is a great way for children to exercise, while teaching them focus and self-confidence,” he added. “It is all done under expert tutorship in a safe, fun environment where the children get to meet many new friends. We are very much looking forward to the school holiday training camps where everyone between the ages of 5 to 18 is welcome.”
The dates for the camps are as follows: April 3-7 and 10-14; May 29 – June 2; July 24 – August 31. Classes run from 8:30am until 5pm and are held at the Dojo at Blue Tree Phuket in Cherng Talay.
Prices are B2,000 a day per child or B7,500 a week per child, with both prices including lunch and snacks throughout the day, in addition to ongoing access to the water refill station and shower facilities.
More information can be found at the Dojo at Blue Tree Facebook page and bookings can be made via dojo@bluetree.fun or by calling 092-805-8527.
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