Bridgetown, Barbados – T&T’s 7 – member judo team returned home with an impressive tally of 5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals after attending the 16^th Barbados International Judo Tournament, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on the 26^th November 2016.

Leading the charge for T&T was 15-year old Xavier JONES who won the Senior Male up to 81kg category. He was uncontested in the Junior Male up to 81kg and, as such, was awarded a gold medal. Although he competed with men more than twice his age in the Senior Male category, Jones had much more experience than his opponents from Guadeloupe and was able to wrap up his matches in less than 2 minutes with Ippon (outright victory). Coming off of his first National Judo Championships wins on 20^th November, Chad WARRICK capped off a successful 2016 with total domination in the Senior Male +100kg, also winning both of his matches with Ippon. This was Warrick’s first opportunity to represent the Red, White and Black in judo competition and he is showing promise as one of the top heavyweights in the Caribbean. Latesha GILL made sure that she would not be outdone by her male counterparts when she won the Senior Female up to 70kg. This year was Gill’s return to competition after a long hiatus. She won both of her matches against Cindy LOGNOS of Guadeloupe with outright victories. Gabriella WOOD was not as decisive as her teammates but she managed to win the Senior Female +78kg by a slim margin over her opponent Hanna KARRA of the Bahamas who won silver. The team’s younger competitors weren’t able get gold but Giovanni LOPEZ (2^nd place Male Cadets up to 60kg) and Kai SAMMY (3^rd place Boys 9-10 up to 38kg) both started off well with outright victories, however, couldn’t top their respective categories. 9-year old Aidan GREAVES, the youngest and least experienced member of the team went down fighting. He was ahead in both of his matches but lost out after making simple errors such as not understanding the referee’s calls.

Although T&T finished 4^th of 5 countries in the medal count, their gold medal haul made them the top team with the highest number of gold medals to team members. The tournament is known as one of the premier events for judoka in French and English speaking Caribbean and this year attracted 100 participants from the 5 territories. The results of the medal count are as follows:

• 1^st Barbados (47 athletes, 14 gold)
• 2^nd Martinique (27 athletes, 14 gold)
• 3^rd Guadeloupe (14 athletes, 5 gold)
• 4^th Trinidad and Tobago (7 athletes, 5 gold)
• 5^th Bahamas (5 athletes, 2 gold)

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Judo Trinidad and Tobago (JudoTT) hosted 33 of the nation’s top judoka on Sunday 20^th at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena Tacarigua to contest 12 categories at the National Judo Championships.

Juniors

Aidan GREAVES (Infantile 1, Boys), Kai SAMMY (Infantile 2, Boys) and Xavier JONES (Junior Boys, up to 81kgs) produced sterling performances to capture the national titles of their respective categories. This tournament was also a warm-up event for these young athletes who will represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 16^th Barbados International Judo Tournament on 26^th and 27^th November. Other notable winners in the Juniors Division were Samuel ROBERTS (Juvenile, Boys), Giselle CHOON (Juvenile, Girls) and Latesha GILL (Under 21, Girls).

Seniors

Chad WARRICK followed up his decisive victory in the 81+kg, Male category with another win in the Male Open category. The feature match of the Seniors Division was between WARRICK and last year’s National Male Open Champion, Jelanie BOYCE. Both judoka had a well-fought battle that ended when Warrick executed a leg-wheel throw on BOYCE for Ippon (outright win) in the last minute of the 5-minute match. This is the first national title for the 22-year old from Belmont. BOYCE however, reigned supreme in the Up to 81kg category. Other notable performances came from Gabriella WOOD (Female Open) and Reinaldo NOVOA Jr. (Up to 66kg) who, after a long hiatus from competition judo, returned to win his first national title in over a decade.

The National Judo Championships also serve as a showpiece for national athletes who would have been previously chosen by JudoTT to compete at one of the most important events of the year for young and promising judoka, which is held the week after in Barbados. The 8-member team departs Friday 25^th for the 16^th Barbados International Judo Tournament.

• Aidan Greaves
• Kai Sammy
• Giovanni Lopez
• Xavier Jones
• Latesha Gill
• Gabriella Wood
• Chad Warrick
• Mark Littrean (Coach/Manager)

NATIONAL JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016, TACARIGUA

RESULTS (JUNIOR DIVISION)

Infantile 1, Boys (under 12 yrs)

1^st Aidan GREAVES – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Kaydan BUTTS – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

Infantile 2, Boys (under 12 yrs)

1^st Kai SAMMY – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Bryce SOOKAN – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

Juvenile, Girls (12-13 yrs)

1^st Giselle CHOON – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Maria HOSPEDALES – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

Juvenile, Boys (12-13 yrs)

1^st Samuel ROBERTS – (Club Judo Ink)

2^nd Shaun HANIF – (Club Judo Ink)

3^rd John NAHOUS – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

4^th C. J. ROOKS – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

Juvenile, Boys (14-15 yrs)

1^st Tyrone CHARLES – (Southern Academy of Martial Arts)

2^nd Seyoum PHILLIP – (Club Judo Ink)

Junior Boys, up to 73kg (under 21 yrs)

1^st Luke WALKER – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Ayodele VIALVA – (Southern Academy of Martial Arts)

Junior Girls, over 57kg (under 21 yrs)

1^st Latesha GILL – (Club Judo Ink)

2^nd Amelia SOOKAN – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

Junior Boys, up to 81kg (under 21 yrs)

1^st Xavier JONES – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Christian VOCTOR – (Arima Judo Club)

3^rd Daniel DASENT-THOMSON – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

NATIONAL JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016, TACARIGUA

RESULTS (SENIOR DIVISION)

Male up to 66kg

1^st Reinaldo NOVOA Jr – (Muga Mushin Judo Club)

2^nd Jason SIEUNARINE – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

3^rd Robert BEERAY – (Global Martial Arts)

Male up to 81kg

1^st Jelanie BOYCE – (Club Judo Ink)

2^nd Adrian AQUAN – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

3^rd Aidan DE GANNES – (Muga Mushin Judo Club)

4^th Jamal VINCENT – (Global Martial Arts)

Male over 81kg

1^st Chad WARRICK – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Robert DE GANNES – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

3^rd Ishmael CAMPBELL – (Muga Mushin Judo Club)

4^th Brent ROOPCHANDSINGH – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

5^th Dion HERCULES – (Global Martial Arts)

Female Open

1^st Gabriella WOOD – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Latesha GILL – (Club Judo Ink)

Male Open

1^st Chad WARRICK – (Queen’s Park Judo Club)

2^nd Jelanie BOYCE – (Club Judo Ink)

3^rd Jamal VINCENT – (Global Martial Arts)

Ippon Trophy (for most outright wins) Male

• Chad WARRICK

Ippon Trophy (for most outright wins) Female

• Gabriella WOOD

Judo Spirit Trophy

• Bryce SOOKAN

Judo Trinidad and Tobago is hosting the National Championships 2016 Tournament on Sunday 20th November 2016 in the Tacarigua Indoor Sporting Facility from 10 am to 4 pm. Participants for this tournament must be at the venue at least one (1) hour before the start of the competition.

Eligibility

Open to members of all clubs affiliated to Judo Trinidad and Tobago (JudoTT) from white/yellow (kids) and yellow (adults) belts up. If you are not up to date on your JudoTT registration please fill out the JudoTT Member Registration Form for submission on the competition day before event weigh ins. Athletes must strictly adhere to the JudoTT Nationals Categories and Rules 2016.

Registration

You are kindly asked to register online through your club’s head instructor, complete the Registration Form and detach and return to your head sensei with payment. The registration fee is $50.00 per athlete.