Over the next four days, 25 countries will compete in Montreal first in the Pan American Junior and Cadet Cup, then at the weekend in the Continental Open. The hosts do everything they can to provide a warm welcome but also to provide a high-quality environment for preparation and training. Hospitality is only one side of the coin, the other is managing a high-level sporting context.
Before the first weigh-in, during the certification process held at an official hotel, dozens of judokas gathered at the National Training Center for training, just a few kilometers away, to feel the rug under their feet one last time before competition day.
“Last week was the Quebec Open, an event that is always very well attended, so we have many athletes from different countries of America who come for that,” explained Antoine Valois-Fortier, Canada’s head coach. “Every year, after this event, we Organizing a 4-day camp. Among other things, the Brazilian team stayed to train this year and there are usually a lot of younger judokas there, to prepare the next generation of elites as well.
Lucy Robinson (GB) and Yasmine Katsumata (Brazil) in the morning training session.
“We’re trying to arrange the camp so people can come for the Quebec event and then stay for training before attending the Continental Open and Cups as well. It’s important timing, to attract people from other countries, and that’s especially important when we think about how the disease is spreading. It’s hard to imagine the size of Canada.” .
Janusz Pawlowski is a Polish coach working with us, coaching the national team since 2014. He leads this morning, but the technical session every morning is led by someone else in our Canadian coaching team. We also engage our regional coaches to always ensure development and inclusion.
Janusz Pawlowski leads the morning technical session.
How will Canadian Judo benefit from these tournaments?
“First of all, we want to be recognized as a federation fully involved in judo, and active in promoting judo. We always hope that you will generate interest and excitement and thus become a new player in judo. It is a great opportunity for our athletes to compete on their home turf but also at the international level. This does not happen “A lot for them, so they will enjoy their home stadium with the cheers of their local supporters. Training is always good too. It’s a great tool to promote Judo.”
World champion and Olympic medalist Jessica Klimkaite was present at her early morning training and said: “Being from Canada, we are really far away from the judo centers of Asia and Europe, so uniting international players with this training opportunity shows how passionate we are to collaborate and improve in the spirit of Jita Kiwi.” .
“Our juniors and seniors who are already at a good level are all based here at the National Training Centre,” added Sasha Mehmedovic, coach of the Canadian junior and national under-23 team. “We are cooperating with the Quebec provincial government because this is the national sports institute and not just for judo. Water polo is based here.” diving, Paralympic swimming, boxing and other sports. Some sports do not fully train in this complex but do strength and conditioning work here, for example speed skaters and hockey players are stationed in a different local building.
Since the Montreal Olympics, it has been well maintained and expanded as a facility. A lot has been built here. There is usually a lot of other entertainment such as concert venues etc. The place is really well used and gives a great feel to those who train here full time.
Morning training is complete.
The juniors will compete tomorrow in the Montreal Inter-American Junior Cup, while the students will compete on Friday. He takes seniors to the mat on Saturdays and Sundays. Meanwhile, the National Training Center will remain open and daily training will continue, so if you are in the area, feel free to join in; Montreal will always have an open space for you!
