Home cooking suits local judokas fine
By Julie HorbalThe Daily GraphicMonday
April 24, 2006
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — In the world of judo, fighters literally are what they eat. And that is a thought which did not occur to local judoka Kim Ronald this past Friday, when -- just about 12 hours prior to her official weigh-in -- she ate a robust dinner-theatre meal. Come Saturday morning, when she and 120 other judokas from across Manitoba converged on Portage la Prairie’s Westpark School for Portage Judo Club Open, Ronald was three kilograms heavier than she usually is and in a bit of a bind. “Needless to say, I was not watching my weight and I ended up in a weight class higher than I am used to,” said Ronald, a former wrestler who has only been practicing judo for two months as a member of Portage Judo Club. “There was no way I could lose that without having to run and things like that, so I figured, you may as well just go with what you’re at.”To make matters worse, Ronald discovered she was the only Novice female registered in her adopted weight class -- which meant she all of a sudden found herself an Advanced-level fighter. “I used to go up weight classes in wrestling, just to get more experience fights in, but this was definitely a first in judo,’ said Ronald, the orange-belt who even took herself by surprise when she finished second to black belt Barb Herda in the division.“I wasn’t supposed to win. I really shouldn’t have finished second, either.”Ronald’s silver showing was part of Portage Judo Club’s total of 26 medals among its 23 fighters in the meet, which has been the focus of the locally-based martial artists since the start of its season. In the male half of the competition, Mackay Hollins (Boys Novice under-43 kg) and Eric Bueckert (Juvenile Men Novice under-45 kg) were gold medalists.Tyler Hulley (Boys Novice under-35 kg), Rylan Hiebert (Boys Novice under-43 kg), Alex Bollman (Boys Novice under-50 kg) and Hollins (Juvenile Men under-45 kg) grabbed silvers amongst the younger boys. Of the younger females, Cassie Garnham (Girls Novice under-30 kg) and Hana Boersma (Girls Novice over-55 kg) captured gold.Carly Mirza (Advanced Girls under-50 kg), Ginte Slate (Girls Novice under-35 kg), Katelyn Hulley (Girls Novice under-40 kg), Victoria Bueckert (Girls Novice under-42 kg), Amy Saunders (Girls Novice under-45 kg) and Morgan McLeod (Girls Novice under-55 kg) finished second among the crop of younger girls. Meanwhile, Kiera Mirza (Juvenile Women Advanced under-52 kg) and Brittany Vlooswyk (Juvenile Women Novice under-57 kg) were runners-up amongst the older girls.Ashton Moore (Girls Novice over-55 kg), Vlooswyk (Girls Novice over-55 kg), Alexandra Garnham (Juvenile Women Novice under-52 kg) and Emmy Boersma (Juvenile Women Novice under-57 kg) finished third.Kiera Mirza and Alexandra Garnham also competed in the Junior Women Advanced under-52 kg division, where they picked up first and second, respectively.Dane Charette (Junior Men Advanced under-56 kg and Senior Men Advanced under-55 kg) and Ryan Harrison (Senior Men Advanced under-81 kg) finished second in the men’s events, while Grant Tennant (Senior Men Advanced under-66 kg) took third.Willem Boersma and Chris Martin also competed for Portage Judo, but did not place, while Portage resident John Boehm (Senior Men Advanced under-73 kg) managed a second-place result as a representative of Manitoba Judo in Winnipeg.According to Portage head coach and event co-ordinator Brian Case, the event was a complete success, both logistically and performance-wise.“We’re very excited about it, considering it’s our first time holding a meet,” said Case, who received many compliments from attending clubs.“We had excellent results and handed out a lot of medals to Portage fighters.”The medals are almost secondary in judo, however, to sportsmanship and honour, which are two things Ronald was reminded of by her good-natured championship final opponent. Herda spent extra time with Ronald prior to their fight in the final, offering tips and advice to the provincial team hopeful, who was more than grateful for the lessons she learned -- both on the court and at the dinner table.“(Barb) was talking about needing to control my upper-body more, so I have better control for my holds. I needed to learn how to do something without allowing her to move in the right direction,” Ronald said.“She was an excellent opponent. You don’t find people going out of their way to make sure you’re doing well, too. I guess that’s the honour aspect of judo coming out in someone with experience.”
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