| Club Tournament |
September 21, 2008 |
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| Tijuana Tournament |
August 16, 2008 |
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We hosted our second tournament of the year in our club, attracting 87 competitors from Southern California and Mexico.
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We travelled with twelve players to the Olympic Training Center (Centro de Alto Rendimiento) in Tijuana for the Baja 2008. We brought home three gold, six silver, and two bronze medals.
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| Beijing Olympics |
August 11, 2008 |
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| Kern River Trip |
August 2-3, 2008 |
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Valerie Gotay won her first match coming from behind to throw Gulzat Uralbayeva (KAZ) for an Ippon. In her second match, she went into overtime and lost to former World and Olympic Champion Isabel Fernandez (ESP). Fernandez lost her next match, thus eliminating Gotay from further competition. She ends her competitive career being ranked in the top twenty in the world in her division. A great accomplishment for an old gal of 34! |
Twenty-nine of our members and parents spent the weekend inner-tubing down the Kern River and camping at Lake Webb. All twenty-nine participants survived, but we did lose two inner tubes. Check out the pictures in our photo gallery. |
| Going to Beijing |
June 15, 2008 |
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Valerie Gotay will be making her second trip to the Olympic Games, sixteen years after her first trip in 1992 as an eighteen year old. She won the 57kg slot at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Las Vegas by beating Hannah Martin in the finals. Valerie was only one of three women to make the Olympic team. Valerie's sister, Natalie Lafon, was also in the running for a trip to Beijing but failed in her bid. (Photo, L to R: Valerie, Ronda Rousey, Sayaka Matsumoto)
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In UFC 84, Judo America's Thierry, known in the MMA world as Sokoudjou "the African Assassin" defeated Japanese judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura at the end of the first round. Nakamura was saved by the bell but was unable to get back to his corner, so the referee declared victory for Thierry.
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| Camping Trip |
May 23 to 26, 2008 |
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| Pan-American Champion |
May 9, 2008 |
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Judo America members headed out to the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves in the Anza-Borrego desert over the Memorial Day weekend. Check out our pictures in our photo gallery. |
Valerie Gotay qualified the U.S. for the 2008 Olympics at 57kg by winning the Pan-American Championships in Miami. Valerie also won the Outstanding Female Competitor award to go with the one she won in 2005. Valerie will enter the U.S. Olympic Trials as the #1 seed in her division. |
| Back to the Bahamas |
April 28, 2008 |
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| Pool Party |
April 19, 2008 |
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Coach Lafon completed his third trip to the Bahamas as technical consultant to the Bahamas Judo Federation. Coach ran clinics for athletes and coaches, and for the first time for the parents of junior players. This clinic was a great success. D'Arcy Rahming, President of the Bahamas Judo Federation, is making great strides in growing Judo in the Bahamas. In addition to his main training site, Mr. Rahming has over 600 students in after-school programs in over a dozen pre-schools and primary schools. His program at the College of the Bahamas is a source of assistant coaches for his after-school programs and his summer camps. |
We had our first pool party of the year and celebrated Aric Tateyama's 9th birthday at the Westwood Club in Rancho Bernardo. Over fifty members and supporters showed up for the event. |
| National Champion |
April 11, 2008 |
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| Club Tournament |
March 30, 2008 |
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Natalie Lafon was crowned U.S. national champion at 48kg in Virginia Beach. She beat seven-time national champion Sayaka Matsumoto in the final. In 2005 and 2006, Natalie finished second at 52kg. Natalie will now go into the U.S. Olympic Trials as the #2 seed in her division. |
Judo America hosted a club tournament that drew 122 competitors from 20 clubs from Southern California and Mexico. This was our biggest club tournament to date. |
