2024… A Year of Judo

As we come to the end of 2024, it’s been 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds—of judo! Here is a recap of 2024, a year of judo in BC and Team BC…

JANUARY

Judo BC participated in the Canadian Women in Sport, “The Gender Equity Playbook” program, learning key steps Judo BC can take to make judo more inclusive.
Team BC athletes qualify to compete at the Elite Nationals. BC earns 8 medals in Cadets, placing 2nd overall; 3 medals in Seniors, placing 7th overall.
New judo club: Green Timbers Judo Club, Surrey

FEBRUARY

Team BC travels with 18 athletes to Denmark to participate in the Denmark Open tournament and training camp. Gold medals: Amir Temirbaev, Lowan Le Bris, Ewen Le Bris (Peak Judo Club); Silver medals: Amir Temirbaev (Peak Judo Club), Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy); Bronze medals: Nathan Thiel (Abbotsford Judo Club), Leanna Au, Megan Au, Kylee Esparbes (Peak Judo Club)
BC Winter Games are held in Lhtako Quesnel with over 130 judo athletes representing 8 zones.

MARCH

7 Team BC athletes represented Canada in Germany. Nathan Thiel, Zachary Harris (Abbotsford Judo Club), Lowan Le Bris (Peak Judo Club) at the International Masters Bremen. Kylee Esparbes, Hailey Ko (Peak Judo Club), Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy), Alandra Steiger (Prince George Judo Club) at the International Thuringia Cup.
Nathan Thiel (Abbotsford Judo Club) and Lowan Le Bris (Peak Judo Club) both earn a bronze medal with 6 wins, 1 loss, at the International Masters Bremen.

APRIL

BC Provincial Championships are held in Prince George at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Center, hosted by the Prince George Judo Club. Almost 400 participants for the 3 day event.
32 Referee promotions occured at the 2024 BC Provincial Championships in Prince George.
New tournament on the provincial circuit: Tristan Alexander Open, Victoria
2 Team BC athletes represent Canada at the 2024 Cadet Panamerican and Oceania Championships in Rio, Brazil. Lowan Le Bris (Peak Judo Club) captures the gold medal and Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy) finishes with a bronze medal. In Junior competition, Lowan finishes 7th and Carla finishes 5th.

MAY

Canadian Open National Championships, BC is represented by over 100 participants. BC earns 30 medals in total for the 4 day event. Peak Judo Club ranks top 3 in Canada, placing 3rd in the following categories: Number of participants, U16 club ranking, U18 club ranking, Veterans club ranking.
Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy) receives the Judo Canada Most Outstanding Female U18 Athlete of the Year Award.
Lowan Le Bris (Peak Judo Club) receives the Judo Canada Most Outstanding Male U18 Athlete of the Year Award.
Amir Temirbaev (Peak Judo Club) receives the Judo Canada Most Outstanding Male U16 Athlete of the Year Award.
Training Camp with Olympic and World Medallist Guest Instructor, Misato Nakamura hosted by Judo BC.

JUNE

42 – Referee promotions in total to date.
94 – Coaches attended NCCP courses.
16 – Coaches evaluated and certified DI (Dojo Instructor).
2 – BC referees promoted to National A level: Matthew Beckett (Prince George Judo) and Sydney Grevatt (Vernon Judo Club).
41 – Total black belt promotions.

JULY

BC and all of Canada celebrate Canada’s first Olympic Gold Medallist, Christa Deguchi at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

AUGUST

4 Team BC athletes are selected to represent Canada at the 2024 Cadet World Judo Championships in Lima, Peru: Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo Academy), Lowan Le Bris, Amir Temirbaev (Peak Judo Club) and Zachary Harris (Abbotsford Judo Club).
The Girls’ Summer Camp returned from a 2-year hiatus, with 40 participants at Loon Lake, Maple Ridge.

SEPTEMBER

Donna Hanson is the new Chair of the Board of Directors of Judo Canada. She is the first female in the history of Judo in Canada, to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Judo Canada.
2 new clubs – Otter Point Athletics Judo Kai in Sooke, and Cranbrook Judo Club in Cranbrook.
Over 100 athletes register for the Team BC provincial program.
Training Camp with Olympic and World Medallist Guest Instructor, Naohisa Takato hosted by Judo BC.
Judo BC Awards, “Going for Gold” for the 2023-24 season held at the Fall Camp.

OCTOBER

National Kata Clinics & Kata Judges’ and Evaluators’ Certifications held at Steveston Judo Club.
Peak International Judo Tournament is the first local tournament on the provincial circuit of the 2024-25 season with over 500 participants.

NOVEMBER

Team BC athletes represent Canada at the Montreal Cup/Open. Cadets: Silver medal: Akhmed Loliev (Peak Judo). Bronze medals: Madeleine Schimann (Hart Judo), Amir Temirbaev, Lowan Le Bris (Peak Judo). Juniors: Gold medal: Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo). Seniors: Bronze medal: Carla Van Zyl (Hart Judo).
Training Camp with Olympic and World Medallist Guest Instructor, Christa Deguchi hosted by Judo BC.
BC referee, Sean Hall (Steveston Judo Club) participated in 2 Panamerican tournaments: Santiago, Chile (May), Montreal, Quebec (November)
8th dan black belt promotion for Art Nishi (Steveston Judo Club) – only 3 active senseis in BC at this level.
10 – Judo BC Veterans competed at the 2024 World Veteran Championships in Las Vegas, US.
3 – Bronze medals by Judo BC Veterans at the 2024 World Veteran Championships in Las Vegas, US.

DECEMBER

24 athletes and 4 coaches travel to Japan for 2 weeks of training and culture.
Judo BC 2024 AGM is held online.
4 new Life Members: John Huntley (Aberdeen Judo), Robert Greichen (Kokoro Judo 100 Mile House), Tokue Suda (Abbotsford Judo Club), Radomir (Bob) Orescanin (New Westminster Judo).
The Team BC Winter Camp is decentralized and held in 3 locations: Hart Judo Academy, Nanaimo Judo Club, Abbotsford Judo Club. Over 160 participants in total.

It’s been a busy year and we look forward to 2025, to continue our progress, hit our goals and set new standards.

Wishing everyone all the best for 2025!