Judo season ends with final fights, cake and medals

Close to 90 young judokas squared off on May 18 in the Nunavut Judo Club’s final tournament of the season.

Competitors were divided by age and weight into groups of four in divisions for those aged four to seven, eight to 12, and 13 and older.

At the Nunavut Judo Club in Iqaluit, classes are set to start again in September after registration. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

They fought for one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in each category.

At the end of the tournament, held at Aqsarniit Middle School in Iqaluit, each competitor got a medal and a piece of cake to celebrate the end of judo for this academic year. Classes are set to start again in September.

This summer, the club’s board will discuss competitions outside of Nunavut where they might send the young judokas, said Andrew Tucker, the head coach and a former student at the club.

Possible events include the Edmonton International, Quebec Open, Ontario Open and Montreal Cup meets.

“As we are increasing our capacity and the number of competitive kids, we try to source more funding so that we can bring more kids to the competitions,” said Tucker.