The Final Glory to a Glorious Year
On the 1st December in Antwerp, Belgium, Jonah took part as a member of TeamBJC in the Ippon Trophy, an event drawing contestants from all over Europe. In 2012, Jonah took part in this event and pulled the Silver. This year he was not going to allow any doubts. He not only took the Gold but did so with all contests finished within ten seconds. A solid demonstration of technique, fitness and determination.
BJC Closed National Championships
On Saturday the 16th November a group of us gathered at the Leisure Centre, clambered into a minibus and traveled to Hereford in preparation for this event. After the weigh-in we dined at the traditional venue - Pizza Express before tackling a flat tyre on the minibus before returning to the hotel for a later than planned rest ready for the vigor's of the following day.
The Sunday proved our club members strength right from the off with an early Gold for Annerlise and was quickly followed by a Bronze for Aileen. Jonah grabbed his 7th consecutive Gold with ease before fine Silvers were taken by Nicola and Shona. At the end of the day we left for the long drive home, exhausted but happy. Some of the more amusing pictures of the day are below (a message to the film crew; if you take more pictures, I can put more up!).
Everyone did really well and as usual, were a credit to the club. Aileen was doubly taxed as she had to leave at lunch to attend a swimming competition!
The full table of medal winners is below. Will your name be on here in 2014?
Name |
Category |
Medal |
Annerlise |
Female Primary U24Kg |
Gold |
Jonah |
Male Junior U34Kg |
Gold |
Nicola |
Female Junior 12-13 U44Kg |
Silver |
Tessa |
Female Senior 3-4 Kyu +70Kg |
Silver |
Shona |
Female Senior 3-4 Kyu U57Kg |
Silver |
Aileen |
Female Primary U28Kg |
Bronze |
Noah |
Male Junior 55Kg |
Bronze |
Jonathon |
Male Junior 14-15 U60Kg |
Bronze |
Laura |
Female Senior U57Kg |
Bronze |
Also competing was Jay who on this occasion was unable to reach the medals but gave of his best. The videos of many of these contests are available here.
One minor event of the day, David Sensei was promoted to 2nd Dan by Robin Otani.
16 Went to Southampton...
A really good turnout, a really good result with 10 medals, 3 of them Gold! One Gold, for Xena was in her first ever competition! It was a damp miserable day and mostly full of drizzle. But the Judo was good with some having a real tough time. Jonah and Oliver were in the largest group which included several with international experience and for three, it was their first time in competition and so were understandably nervous. Jessica and Laura got joined in with the Dan grade females right at the end of a day which didn't finish until 8pm. A hard day, but good fun.
Name |
Category |
Medal |
Jonah |
Male Junior U35Kg |
Gold |
Xena |
Female Junior U60Kg |
Gold |
Laura |
Female Senior U70Kg |
Gold |
Aileen |
Female Primary U30Kg |
Silver |
Jay |
Male Junior 55Kg |
Silver |
Nicola |
Female Junior 45Kg |
Bronze |
Chris |
Male Junior 45Kg |
Bronze |
Jack |
Male Junior 30Kg |
Bronze |
Jonathon |
Male Junior 60Kg |
Bronze |
Jessica |
Female Senior U70Kg |
Bronze |
The other contestants were Francesca, Oliver, Bradley, James, Amara & Tabitha who all contested valiantly but were unable to grab the medals. For Amara and Tabitha it was their first competition and Oliver only just missed out in the largest category. A very well done to all.
Videos of these contests will be available here shortly.
Buckinghamshire BJC Area Grading
The final area grading of the year took place on the 13th October at the Woughton Centre in Milton Keynes. It was, as usual, a good event for our club with all but one progressing. The club Sensei are very proud of all who attended and just wished that more had turned up! A dozen out of a club of more than fifty is not enough.
Name |
Grade |
Annerlise |
6th Kyu 1 Orange |
Francesca |
6th Kyu 2 Red |
Olivia |
6th Kyu 2 Red |
Alexander |
4th Kyu 1Green |
Christopher |
4th Kyu 1Green |
James |
3rd Kyu 2Blue |
Jay |
3rd Kyu |
Joesph |
5th Kyu 3 Orange |
Oliver |
4th Kyu 2 Green |
Sophie |
5th Kyu 2 Orange |
Xena |
5th Kyu |
Richard Russell |
3rd Kyu |
5 go to the Oxfordshire Championships
Continuing to suffer from a depleted squad, Chalfont was only able to send a handful to the Oxfordshire Championships in Didcot. This annual event took place on the 20th October, a particularly grey and wet day where there was little better to do than Judo. The event, a bit more subdued than previous years still produced some excellent Judo. Unusually, there was a surfiet of referees which meant that they all had substantial breaks from officiating - that makes a change.
Name |
Category |
Medal |
Aileen |
Female Primary |
Silver |
Francesca |
Female Primary |
Bronze |
Nicola |
Female Junior under 55Kg |
Bronze |
Oliver |
Male Junior 55Kg |
Bronze |
Jay |
Male Junior 52Kg |
Silver |
Of particular note, Aileen and Francesca took part in their first competitions and in fact, Francesca, who was very keen to enter has barely done half a dozen sessions since starting Judo earlier this term.
6 out of 7 for the BJC Welsh Nationals!
With so many of our club now over 18 and off to Uni. plus injuries and illness, the Chalfont squad was a bit low on numbers compared to recent years. However those who came along had a great time and did us proud!
Name |
Category |
Medal |
Jonah |
Male 10-11 years under 34Kg |
Gold |
Annerlise |
Female 8-9 years under 28Kg |
Bronze |
Jay |
Male 12-13 years under 55Kg |
Bronze |
James |
Males 14-15 years under 55Kg |
Bronze |
Molly |
Female 16-17 years under 52Kg |
Bronze |
Shona |
Female 16-17 years under 52Kg |
Bronze |
The day started off with Annerlise on mat 5 where she was the lightest in her group by a fair margin. This was her first time competing in a national event and she fought with gusto. Jonah was then on in the largest category of the day winning all contests bar one with Ippon and rather naughtily, having observed that he was Wazari up in one contest and that there was less than 30 seconds left on the clock, concentrated on blocking his opponents attacks whilst smiling at the countdown.
Jay rather mucked his weight up by being 80g over his weight limit. So his Bronze was doubly well earned with a fantastic big throw for Ippon in his last contest. James went all out in his first ever national event and rightly was very proud of his Bronze.
Towards the end of the day, Molly and Shona joined forces on mat 3, much to the annoyance of their Sensei who was referring on mat 5 and rather wanted to watch. Shona scored early on with a good throw and kept Molly at bay for most of the contest but ended up losing to a good hold down. Both Shona and Molly lost out to Beth from Bury but she was certainly looking worried when Shona was Wazari up for most of the contest and was lucky to beat Shona in the last few seconds.
Oliver was the only one not to gain a medal. He was in the same category as Jonah and being at the lighter end as well as one of the youngest, he found it hard but fought valiantly. This was not his time but he has proved that he can do it earlier in the year and as he matures, there is no doubt that he will again.
8 out of 10 at the Open!
Chalfont entered ten (including one from DCHS, our sister club) into this years British Judo Council Open National Championship in Kettering.
Jonah set the standard early in the day with his emphatic supremacy in the under 30Kg where all but one of his four contests was decided within half a minute. Lucy, representing DCHS was next on and her Gold was grabbed in short order with no contests lasting more than 15 seconds.
Next up was a challenge for our video team as Jay, Noah, Jonathon, Jamie, Elliot and Molly were all on different mats at the same time. Noah pulled his first ever Silver with Molly also grabbing one. Jay and Jamie fought their way through to an Upper Bronze. Later in the day Laura, now competing in the Senior category took the Silver and Jamie King, fighting in the Dan grade category was the last to fight at the very end of the day where he won an Upper Bronze. This was very well deserved as the Gold went to a 5th Dan.
Videos of Chalfont members involved in this event can be seen by clicking here.
3 Golds at Leicestershire
Jonah, Jamie, Elliot and Jay attended the Leicestershire Area Championship on the 27th April. This is traditionally a tough event where many attending use it as a 'proving ground' for the National event the following weekend.
Jamie, Elliot and Jay all pulled Gold (with this being Jay's first) which means that we dominated the medium to heavy weight categories. Unfortunatly, Jonah, who won his first two contests lost his third and was injured on the fourth and had to withdraw. But losing is not part of Jonah's game-plan. He will be back.
Chalfont gets 4 more instructors
Molly, Jamie, Elliot and Noah all gained their FPJ1 Coaching qualification on the 22nd April. Well done and we look forward to you all helping grow the skills of the club members.
Hi-Performance Contest Course
This event took place on the 3rd March at St. Albans Judo Club. Twenty travelled to take part from as far afield as Cornwall and Cheshire. Branko Sensei once again gave us an excellent days training where we left feeling exhausted but elated.
BJC Awards Dinner
Took place on the evening of the 2nd March. People travelled from all over the UK to converge on the Charing Cross hotel for a night to remember, mostly for the right reasons!
Roy Sensei, Molly accompanied by her mum, Gill Jackson represented our club as both Molly and Roy had been shortlisted for the awards.
Roy was visibly touched when everyone sung Happy Birthday to celebrate his 80th earlier in the week and he was given a bottle of Champagne. Molly won the Special Achievement Award for her grit, determination and flat refusal to give up in the face of any and all adversity.
Roy looking chuffed |
Molly & Gill Jackson |
Roy and Molly |
The President and Roy share a joke (probably at David Sensei expense) |
Roy Sensei is 80!
David Sensei knows a thing or two. One of these things, fixed in his mind for a long time was the date when the Head Coach would become an octogenarian. Planning started some time ago. Under great secrecy and with the whole club sworn to silence (for fear of being made Uke for the next several months), everything took shape with help coming from several parents who made the cafe area of the leisure centre into a party room suitable for anyone aged 8 to 80.
Judo went ahead as normal with Roy being unaware of anything other than the normal. But at 8pm David stopped the session with the traditional Sore Made and when Roy looked at the clock, he just assumed that it had broken down again. David organised the putting away of all the mats and then everyone came together in the cafe with and the festivities began. Roy was quite delighted and went home well laden down with cards and presents.
When asked "how much longer will you carry on for" Roy replied "oh, another decade".
Southfields Championships
A small team by our standards, only two, travelled to Leicester on Saturday the 23rd to compete in this event. Jonah won Silver, after losing to Sustema Waza which should have seen his opponent disqualified and Noah the Bronze. Jay unfortunatly did not grab a medal but all did well and stood the club proud.
Tamworth Course 2013
Ten traveled to Tamworth on the weekend of the 16th to 17th February for two days of training with Neil Adams 8th Dan and former World Champion and two times Olympic Silver Medalist. A hard days training was followed on the Saturday night by an excellent Chinese meal before retiring early (well some of us anyway) for a repeat performance on the Sunday. The second day also featured the grading where several of us achieved new grades. Of particular note was Ellie grabbing her 1st Black tab and Noah his first Brown. Unfortunately, Tessa received a broken wrist for her efforts in a grading pool that she should not been in and Jonathon and Nick Chapman missed getting graded this time around.
Name |
Grade |
Jonah |
4th Kyu 1Green |
Noah |
3rd Kyu 1 Brown |
Ellie |
3rd Kyu 1 Black |
Amanda Abate |
5th Kyu |
Abby Felix |
5th Kyu |
Tessa Eftimiades |
3rd Kyu (ratified Senior Grade) |
BJC Kata Tournament 2013
Shona and Noah entered this event for the second year in a row. Mimicing their result from last year, they once again pulled the Gold in Ju no Kata and the Bronze in Katame no Kata. It was a very worthy performance for which they should be proud.
Buckinghamshire BJC Area Grading
The first Area grading of the year took place the day after our Championship on Sunday 27th January. For those who attended, a good day was had as the grading was combined with an all day coaching session so that there was plenty to learn and practise as well as grade. From our club the following achieved a new grade.
Name |
Grade |
Jack |
6th Kyu 2 Red |
Raymund |
6th Kyu 2 Red |
James |
6th Kyu 3 Red |
Annelise |
6th Kyu 3 Red |
Dylan |
6th Kyu 3 Red |
Alexander |
6th Kyu 2 Yellow |
Callum |
6th Kyu 3 Yellow |
Lukas |
6th Kyu 1 Orange |
Oliver |
5th Kyu |
Sophie |
5th Kyu |
Alex |
5th Kyu 2 Orange |
Christopher |
5th Kyu 2 Orange |
Fionn |
5th Kyu 2 Orange |
Bradley |
3rd Kyu |
James |
3rd Kyu |
Jay |
3rd Kyu |
Ellie |
3rd Kyu 3 Brown |
Shona Alfert |
3rd Kyu (ratified Senior Grade) |
Feiroze Akhter |
3rd Kyu |
Richard Russell |
4th Kyu |
Chalfont Championship 2013
Saturday 26th January saw our annual club championship take place at the Evreham Sports Centre once again. With more than 100 contestants fighting for Gold over 3 mats, it was a great day which for the most part ran smoothly, starting on time and finishing just after 2pm. The standard of Judo was high against tough opposition as there were teams from Leicester, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe and elsewhere of National standard Judoka. In fact some of the categories featured contestants who were all well known to each other as they frequently meet at the BJC National events.
There were a couple of upsets but on the whole the outcome confirmed once again that Chalfont is the equal of the best in the country.
Name |
Category |
Medal |
Ellie |
Junior Female 60-80Kg |
Gold |
Noah |
Junior Male 45-50Kg |
Gold |
Jamie |
Junior Male 50-55Kg |
Gold |
Tom Hargreaves |
Senior Male 55-70Kg |
Gold |
Molly |
Junior Female 50-55Kg |
Silver |
Jonah |
Junior Male 30-35Kg |
Silver |
Jay |
Junior Male 40-45Kg |
Silver |
Jonathon |
Junior Male 50-55Kg |
Silver |
Elliot |
Junior Male 55-60Kg |
Silver |
Laura Day |
Senior Female 57-63Kg |
Silver |
Feiroze Akhtar |
Senior Male 55-70Kg |
Silver |
Bradley |
Junior Male 35-40Kg |
Bronze |
Annelise |
Primary Female 0-25Kg |
Bronze |
Raymund |
Primary Male 45-55Kg |
Bronze |
Oliver |
Junior Male 30-35Kg |
Bronze |
Delcan |
Junior Male 30-35Kg |
Bronze |
Fionn |
Junior Male 50-55Kg |
Bronze |
James |
Junior Male 50-55Kg |
Bronze |
Shona Alfert |
Junior Female 50-55Kg |
Bronze |
Chelsea Kelly |
Senior Female 57-63Kg |
Bronze |
Tessa Eftimiades |
Senior Female 57-63Kg |
Bronze |
Richard Russell |
Senior Male 70-110Kg |
Bronze |
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