On Saturday 26th October a team of primarily younger fighters from the Edinburgh Club made an appearance at the Scottish Open, held in the prestigious Kelvinhall International Sports Arena in Glasgow. For some, the event was merely preparation for next week's British Trials in Sheffield; for others, it was a chance to re-affirm themselves as a top competitor in Scottish Judo.
In the Senior Men's competition, 60kg player Graham Trinder (currently training as a full-time athlete here in Edinburgh) succeeded in his goal of being undefeated. He put in a fine performance, beating the skilled Wayne Lomax in the final. The -66kg category was slightly more disappointing with David Millar being robbed of victory early on due to a poor refereeing decision - what was clearly a slip counted against him as ippon! Despite this setback early on, David pulled it back to win the bronze medal. I'm sure he'll be disappointed not to have won but there's no doubt he'll be back for more.
The senior -73kg category looked extremely interesting with Patrick Dawson, Alan MacDonald, Joe Cooney and Nicky Thwaits (all full-timers at the club) fighting for that elusive gold medal!! All put in commendable performances, but credit must go to Patrick and Alan who both won bronze in the biggest male category of the day. Joe just missed out on a medal, coming in at 5th place, Iain Feenan, fighting at the higher weight of -81kg in preparation of the British Trials, didn't disappoint. He comfortably dispatched of his opponents despite having some strong competition from the strong and technical Ian Johns in the final. Chris Sherrington +100kg also made light work in storming through to the gold medal, great performances from all the Edinburgh Club men!
In the Senior Women's competition, the Edinburgh Club continued it's winning streak. Leanne Black -48kg was unfortunate to win only silver after a highly controversial final that could have gone either way. There was much promise in her performance and she'll be back for revencge at the next opportunity! Danae Harris, on of the club's junior players, won the bronze medal at -52kg - a great achievement! In the -63kg category, Connie Ramsay put in a strong performance. In the final she couldn't manage to bring back gold this time, but I'm sure the disappointment of getting silve will only serve as an incentive to train even harder and come back stronger.
The Junior (under 20) competition also proved success for the Edinburgh Club fighters. Although David Jones and Jonny Dewar failed to bring back medals in the extremely competitive -60kg weight group, both put in a performance to be proud of. In the -73kg group, Adam Cooney and Daniel Dunn scored some fantastic ippons, with Daniel gaining bronze medal for his efforts. Despite this, I'm sure he was capable of being in the running for gold as he lost to a player he'd previously beaten. With this is in mind, there's no doubting Daniel will be top of the podium in years to come with the highest level of coaching expertise on offer here in Edinburgh. Oliver Trigges -81kg secured a bronze medal in his comeback from injury. However, there is a great deal of work on in terms of both judo technique and strrength and conditioning.
Danae Harris should be congratulated on winnimg another bronze medal; this tim in the junior category. Team-mate Jodie Mullen echoed Danae's result gaining a well deserved bronze medal in the -63kg category. The colour of her medal is no reflection on how Jodie fought; she put in an excellent performance to beat some top-level junior British fighters. Despite Vicky Barrance coming just short of a medal in 5th place in the -70kg weight division she should be highly commended on a great effort from one of the youngest fighters of the day.
Frank Taylor put in an incredibly gutsy performance to win a silver medal in the -/+ 100kg category, there was a huge amount of grit and determination shown by the Edinburgh club's very own Senior Beginner's Coach: well done Frank!
All in all, a big well done goes out to all the fighters that took part. Whether or not you medalled, or took the medal you wanted, you all fought your heart out! Finally, a massive thank you to Lee, Tony, Tommy, Iain Euan & everybody else who played a part in coaching on the day; without you guys the club wouldn't be a fraction of how successful it currently is!
Author
Oliver Triggs
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