23 PG athletes heading to national championships

Grooten is preparing for his second Nationals, while Yin will be competing in her third. They both say the added experience of knowing what to expect should play a big role in helping them manage the size and scope of the tournament, leading to stronger performances.

“Since I’ve done it before, it’s not super new, or there aren’t so many overwhelming things that are going to distract me from actual judo,” Yin said.

“I’m just going to do my type of judo, and I’ll just see how that goes, because I know I’m good enough to fight them, so I’ll just do my thing,” Grooten said.

Entering her third Nationals, Yin adds she’s also grown familiar with her opponents, so she feels like she’s more prepared for the types of moves or techniques she’ll have to face, and how to best counter them.

“I’m older, and I’ve been in the same category for longer, so I kind of know the people I’m gonna be fighting and I know what they’re going to do and what I need to do,” Yin said.

Hart Judo Academy owner Bruce Kamstra says Nationals is always a great opportunity for the younger athletes to continue honing their skills and developing as athletes, and he adds after the tournament there is a national training camp, which he says is the best part of the entire experience, as there will be around 400 athletes all training together.

“You get out of the camp what you put into it. So if you’re working hard all the time, you go to the camp, you have the best competitors in your divisions, you can fight up age categories as well, right? So you have the best athletes from across the country that you can practice with, train with,” Kamstra said.

“Judo is kind of sudden death, so in a competition your match could be quick whether you win or lose. But in training camp, you’re going to be fighting the same person for, say, four or five minutes straight. And then you get five practices where we’re going to have with all the teams together,” Kamstra added.

The full list of athletes attending is

Hart Judo Academy

Maegan Grooten
Shane Grooten
Lucas Austman
Yannick Schimann
Madeleine Schimann
Sylvie Schimann
Jaymi Hinchey
Cadence Morris
Graham Pryschlak
Liam Kuklis

Prince George Judo Club

Abigail Yin
Lyndon Holliday
Preston Holt
Layne Clark
Jesse Castor- Hedstrom

Northern Capital Judo

Olivia Wisnioski
Kiya Wisnioski
Szymon Wisniowski
Ronald Beauchesne
Paul Bryant
Trevor Wheele
Eric Willms
Jason Zazelenchuk

by Tommy Osborne

23 PG athletes heading to national championships

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