PUBLICITY OFFICER'S REPORTS

 

15th October 2006

JUDO NATIONALS TEAM

 

Forty five, Junior and Senior Canterbury judo players head to Wellington this weekend for the New Zealand Judo Federations 50th Anniversary National Judo Championships.

 

Several Senior players stand a chance of a medal, but more prominent names are Graeme Spinks, Jason Koster, Kai Kirbschus and with John Moody in the Masters division.

 

Junior Mens, Leo Natsuhara, having missed last years Nationals, due to training in Japan for twelve months will be a force to be reckoned this year with all the experience he gained in Japan.

 

Our Senior Women will miss these Champs as they will be at the US Open and training camp.

9th July 2006

CANTERBURY JUNIOR AGE TOURNAMENT 9th July 2006

ANOTHER NATSUHARA WINS OPEN

 

Younger brother of Leo Natsuhara, Kent took out the Open title at the Canterbury Junior Age Judo tournament this weekend at RangiRuRu Girls School. With a weight difference of approximately 40kgs, Kent managed to show superior skill in winning the final over his heavier opponent.

 

During the tournament there were some excellent displays of very good sportsmanship and judo skills which hopefully indicates these younger player will develop over time and put Canterbury in a stronger situation in years the to come.

 

25th June 2006

CLUTHA’S COMMONWEALTH BRONZE

 

The Commonwealth Judo Championships for 2006 were held in Derry, Northern Ireland on the 16 – 18th of June.  For the first time Youth (under 20 years) and Masters (over 30 years) divisions were included in the competition, as well as the standard Senior divisions open to all ages.  New Zealand was represented by a strong team of nine, and achieved outstanding results, with every New Zealand athlete winning at least one medal, and the team bringing home eleven medals in total. 

 

The sole Cantabrian in the team, Mahana Clutha, won a bronze medal in the Youth Female Under 63kg category.  Clutha secured her medal by strangling her Scottish opponent early in the fight, achieving an ippon, similar to a knockout in boxing.  In her fight against the eventual gold medal winner from England, Clutha lasted the full four minutes, and only lost by a minor point.  Clutha also fought in the Senior Women’s division, and, although she lost to opponents from Malta and Scotland, she gained much from the experience of fighting world-class opponents.

 

Judo is a minority sport in New Zealand, but it is the second most played sport worldwide, behind soccer.  Because of this minority status, judo players in New Zealand find it very difficult to perform consistently at international competitions.  Athletes are almost always completely self-funded, and must move overseas to get the training required to be competitive at any competition above Oceania level.  The value of providing funds and training can clearly be seen in English judo players, who are almost professional athletes.  It is therefore not surprising that the outstanding country at this competition was England, winning an amazing 22 gold medals in Youth and Senior divisions, with second placed Scotland winning only 4.  Donald Fairley won New Zealand’s only gold medal in the Men’s Masters 45-50 years Under 100kg division.  Full results for Youth and Seniordivisions can be found at www.ippon.org.

16th October 2005

JUDO HOPEFULS PERFORM

 

Canterbury Oceania Judo hopefuls dominated their division at this weekends South Island Judo Championships at RangiRuRu Girls School.

 


Peter Broom, sweeping away the ever tough veteran Graeme Spinks, in the final for the Senior mens u81kg.


Jason Koster, stylishly thundered his way through the u100kg weight then the Senior Mens Open, winding over Canterbury's most prominent player over many years Graeme Spinks in the final.

 

Ana Moceyawa also won two Golds medals in the Senior Womens Open and Young womens u57kg, as her final major tournament before the Queensland, Open Oceania Championships in November.

 

Other Player to win Two Gold medal were:  in the Junior Mens division, Shaun Melind, U66kg and u60/66kg combined, Jonathan Broman, u73/81kg combined and u81kg, and Chris Cunard,u90kg and Open.

In the Junior boys Zac Thomson u55kg and the Open.

Senior Womens, Mahana Clutha, u63kg and =57 combined and the restricted open.

 


All round Canterbury had a very successful tournament with player development showing through in many areas.

 

 

9th October 2005

SOUTH ISLAND JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

This years 184 competitors are coming from as far Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, the Westcoast, Queenstown and the clubs in Canterbury, this is one of the best spreads of competitors we have had for many years. The event will be held at RangiRuRu Girls School this weekend.

 

Three Canterbury players, Jason Koster, Peter Broom and Ana Moceyawa , will be using this event as a final build up to the Oceania Open Judo Tournament, in Queensland, mid November.

 

Peter Broom is in the largest weight division, Senior Mens u81kg which will provide plenty of competition for his build up and it would not be a surprise for him and Jason Koster to feature well in the Senior Mens Open which is the prestige event of the tournament and has drawn 17 players, the biggest entries, for a division, of the weekend.

 

 

28th August 2005

JUDO ACHEIVEMENTS

 

Jason Koster (Can Am Ju), has topped off a great week of judo by winning the South Island Grade tournament, 1st Kyu (brown belt), and Open Grade Championship titles and by beating the required number of brown belts without a defeat was awarded his black belt. This was on top of winning two Gold medals in the U100kg, the U100 kg and +100kg combined and a Silver in the Open at the Victorian Open in Melbourne last weekend.

 


Ana Moceyawa (Can Am Ju ), won two Gold medals in the Young Womens (14-16yrs) 3rd kyu (green belt), and Restricted Kyu divisions after which she was also promoted to Blue belt. Ana also won a Gold medal at the Victorian Open in the Young Womens u57kg and in the Victorian Secondary Schools +16 yrs Girls U60kgs

 


Christchurch Judo clubs run rampant in the New Zealand Judo Masters divisions winning all the titles and Jorg Tepper, (Cobberkwai), winning the 30-40yr Middleweight and 30-40yrs Open. Kerry Saggers, (Christchurch Judo School), won both the 40-50yrs Middleweight and 40-50 yrs Open.

 

In the Youth, (males 14-16yrs), saw the 3rd kyu (green belt), and Restricted Kyu Open titles go to Timaru’s  Kane-Paul Smith.

 

The Grade Titles were spread amongst all the other South Island judo clubs from Nelson, Dunedin, Granity, Kaiapoi, Timaru, Christchurch and a third place to Wellington.

 

Two other Canterbury Judoka to win medals at the Victorian Open were Peter Broom Bronze in the Mens u81kgs and Mahana Clutha, Silver in the Young Womens u63kgs.

Grant Jones, now living in Melbourne, was runnerup the the Mens U90kg and third in the Mens Open.

 

Bryce Butterfield traveled to the Victorian Open, but this was to further his Refereeing Qualifications and in doing so, he was promoted to Oceania B level Refereeing Status.

 

Sunday was Junior day at the Grade Tournament and the two outstanding players were Zoe Watson from Granity taking the Girls 4th kyu  (orange belt) +40 kgs and Restricted Kyu Grade titles and Tony Godfrey of Mairusu Kai, winning the boys 4th kyu (orange belt) +40kg, the Restricted Kyu Open and the Open Kyu Grade titles.

22nd July 2005

JUDO AGE CHAMPIONS

 

Canterbury Judo ran its Junior Age Tournament this weekend which is different from the normal Judo weight division tournament in that the player contest in an age based weight divisions. The event attracted players from within Christchurch but also from as far away as Motueka, Granity and Timaru. This is seen as an event offering a different opportunity for players to succeed if the typical weight diversions do not favour their size and development.

 

Cobberkwai’s Kenga Kano winning the 14yrs, u55kg and Open, Connor Moody, the 11yrs u40kg and Light Open titles these were the two most successful player of the event. Kano, continued on from his successes at the Nationals and Canterbury Open Championships earlier this year.

1st June 2005

CANTABS SEEK NATIONAL JUDO TITLES

 

Twenty nine of Canterbury’s best judoka will converge on Hamilton this weekend with the sole aim of winning a New Zealand Judo Federation National Title. The Championships include Male, Female, Junior and Senior players contesting their weight division and Open weight categories over the three day weekend.

 

The Canterbury players include 14 Junior members (under 16yrs) it would not be unrealistic to expect perhaps at least 7 medals to come from the Junior members. The 15 strong Senior players has some very talented players amongst them, Peter Broom, Jason Koster who both featured prominently in the recent Canterbury Open Championships along with them are Graeme Spinks, Aaron Campbell, Alan Temoanaui and Jõrg Tepper, all well in with a chance of a medal.

 

The Senior Women, Kate Stanbridge, Mahana Clutha and Tanya Cooper could also be expected to win titles.

16th May 2005

KOSTER’S DAY AT JUDO

 

Jason Koster, Can Am Ju, had an outstanding day at the Canterbury Open Judo Championships over the weekend at Rangiruru Girls School, winning gold in the Senior Mens U100kg, 90+ combined and Open. Probably the contest of the weekend was the semi final of the Mens Open,  Koster against Peter Broom, senior competitions are of 5 minutes normally but due to neither player having scored a point at the end of the time, Golden Score applied, that means a further 5 minutes is contested and after a total of 8.5 minutes Koster finally scored and secured a place in the final. This was against new comer to Christchurch, Andre Pinkert, ChCh Judo School.

Masters player Kerry Saggers won the titles in the mens 40-50yrs 73-90kgs,

40-50 middle weight combined and the Masters Open division.

The Junior males and females on the Sunday continued with the high standard of judo which if this continues Canterbury and the South Island judo looks very good for the future.

20th October 2004

JUDO CELEBRATES

 

A large number of judo players, officials and supporters gathered at the Annual Judo Player of the year function on Friday night to acknowledge the successes and efforts of Canterbury Judo over the last 12 months. The evening began with some interesting motivation and personnel experiences from the guest speakers, Craig Monaghan an Olympic judo Referee and Sandra Manderson, District Police Commander and a past very successful New Zealand Judo representative.

 


The feature of the evening was the presentation of the awards;

The Overall Judoka of the Year, Peter Broom.

Senior Judoka of the Year, Peter Broom.

Junior Judoka of the Year, KanePaul Smith.

Official of the Year,Craig Monaghan.

Administration Person of theYear, Bev Jones. *

Coach of the Year, Trevor Williams

Personality of the Year, Ian Smith.

Fairplay/Spirit of Judo, Alan Te Moananui.

Most Impressive Technical Improvement, Leo Natsuhara.

Most Supportive Parent /Volunteer, Juanita Edwards.

 

 

29th August 2004

NEW JUDO BLACK BELT

  Alan Te Moananui, (Kaikoura), after many extremely impressive performances over the years, was awarded the sought after Black Belt at the completion of the South Island Grade Tournament on Sunday.The awarding of the Grade was a very well received promotion by the crowd which followed on from two first places and a second during the day.

  Leo Natsuhara, Can Am Ju, after an extremely successful competition year was promoted to Brown Belt on his performances over the weekend as well as other event throughout the year.

  Timaru’s Scott Harrison was the other player upgraded from yellow to Orange Belt.

  The most successful Junior Player at the tournament was Joelli Moceyawa, Can Am Ju, with first places in the Boys u40kg orange belt, the Restricted Kyu and the Open Grade division. 

20th July 2004

SHINING NEW JUDO STARS

  This weekend’s Canterbury Open Judo Championships, with the absence of many top players including those nominated for the Commonwealth Judo Tournament later this year in Auckland, saw outstanding performances from some new shining stars.

   Senior Women’s, Kate Stanbridge selected to compete in the Commonwealth Tournament, won both the u70kg and Open weight division.
  The most successfully player on the Saturday was Mahana Clutha, winning Gold in the Young Women’s (14-16yrs) u63 u70kg combined and Open then in the Senior Women’s, Restricted Kyu Open and a Silver in the Open. The most exciting match of the day possibly was the final of the Restricted Kyu Open with her club mate Ana Moceyawa, who won a gold and two Silver medals. This final saw some excellent skills in both the throws and groundwork from both players, and with the vocal support for both players from their Coach Steve Cooper, made for an exciting final.
  Leo Natsuhara, in the Intermediate Males, was in stunning form as he breezed his way through to Gold in both the u73kg and Open weight.
  Hamilton based, Canterbury player Jason Koster, another one of the players named in the squad for the Commonwealth Judo Tournament, walked away with the Senior Men’s Open Title along with the u100kg Gold from Kaikoura's Alan TeMoananui in both finals.
  Steven Gray won the u66kg and Light Open in the Senior Men’s category and fellow club member Justin Miller scooped Golds in the +100 and Restricted Kyu Open and Bronze in the Open.
  In the Senior Men’s Masters, 35yrs and over, Rob Koster equaled son Jason’s medal tally of two Golds by winning the 40-50yr Heavy weight +90kg and the Open division.

8th June 2004

JUDO MEDAL HAUL

Canterbury judoka returned from the National Judo Championships over the weekend with 28 Medals, seven golds going to Senior mens Peter Broom u73kg,and Trevor Melind u60 kg, Intermediate males Leo Natsuhara U66kg.The Junior girls Nova-Collins Cross u50kg and Rebecca Moore u25kg,Junior boys Kanga Kano u45kg,and Kane Paul Smith O55kg

The Balance of the medals was made up of 12 Silvers and 9 Bronzes, the medals were spread amongst So Kan Ju in Timaru, Christchurch Judo School, Cobberkwai and Can Am Ju.

Two  players were also recognized for their outstanding performances  by being awarded the JNZ Outstanding Judoka, in the Juniors mens to Karl Rathbone and Leo Natsuhara the Ben Griffiths Outstanding Judoka for The Intermediate males.

30th May 2004

JUDOKA NORTHWARD BOUND

Thirty of Canterburys best judo players will be Auckland bound over Queens Birthday to contest the National Senior and Junior judo championships at the AUT Sport and Fitness Centre, in Northcote.
The majority of the team, including the junior members, have won medals at previous Nationals and those how have not, have been medalists at the South Islands and Canterbury Championships.
 The senior members who should shake a few bones will be, Males, Graeme Spinks, Peter Broom, Aaron Campbell, Trevor Melind, Females, Kate Stanbridge, and Ana Moceyawa.
 With the Olympic games and the Commonwealth Judo Tournament out of contention for most of Canterburys player, these judoka will all be working towards the prestige of National Champion status and the opportunity to be selected for the respective training squads and perhaps a touring team.

2th April 2004

CANTERBURY JUDO TITLES

 The 2004 Canterbury Judo Championships, for Junior and Seniors has drawn 96 players with 151 entries to be contested over both the Saturday and Sunday at the Rangi RuRu Girls School.

Kate Stanbridge , Bronze medalist u70 kg and Joy Williams, Silver medalist in the Senior Womens Open, just last week at the Oceania Judo Union championships, in New Caledonia. These two will met in both the u70 kg and Open weight divisions this weekend. Tanya Cooper the third Canterbury Women player at the OJU event will contest the u57kg.

Senior Mens Oceania  Representatives Trevor Melind, u60 kg and Peter Broom a Bronze medallist in the Senior Mens u73 kg will be expected to win their respective weight divisions. Peter will also be a very likely contender for the Open Title as well