Two win Oceania medals

Two members of the Woy Woy Judo Club have been successful in winning medals at the Oceania Judo Titles held in Canberra last month.

Woy Woy athletes Jordan Smith, 16, and Kayla Wells, 18, represented Australia in the junior men's and junior women's divisions at the event taking out the silver medal and gold medal respectively.

"After the initial cold weather shock of early morning Canberra, the tournament got underway," club publicity officer Ms Lindy Simmons said.

"There was an array of sizes and colours as athletes paraded in their country's tracksuits.

"Australia had the largest contingent of 90 athletes, with 37 males and 29 females winning medals or attaining national ranking.

"New Zealand and New Caledonia were next in the medal tally, showing exceptional judo skills that kept the bouts moving at a fast speed.

"French Polynesia and Papua New Guinea entered quite a few light weights while the Samoan, Fijian and Solomon Islands players represented the 90 to 100 kg divisions.

"The competition was run over two days with Kayla playing in the junior women's under-70kgs division, winning the gold medal with a 10-point throw against fellow Australian team mate Jessica Klajman of Budokan Judo Club, Castle Hill.

"Jordan competed in the junior men's under-81kgs against Jake Mirabato of Queensland, then Eoin Coughlin of Victoria to take the silver medal."

Ms Simmons said Jordan also competed in the NSW International Open at Blacktown Leisure Centre the following weekend to take out another silver medal in his weight division.

"Kayla unfortunately had no other entries in her weight division, but with most of the visiting countries staying on to compete at this event it was again a good experience to watch such a high level of competition," according to Ms Simmons.

"Their training commitment has paid off as shown by their results.

"Jordan is now preparing to embark on a trip to Agadir, Morocco, to compete with the Australian team at the Junior World Tournament in October."

Chief instructor Danny Simmons of Woy Woy Judo Club is no stranger to raising National representatives over his 55 years experience in the sport, but said he was "more than pleased" with the stamina of both Kayla and Jordan.

"It's a lot to take in at their age," Mr Simmons said.

"Our club is very proud of their achievements, they have put in the hard yards but it doesn't stop here.

"Training for Jordan will increase at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra prior to departure to the World titles.

"There is no funding for the athletes, so we have just one month to raise the necessary money to help get him there."

Woy Woy Judo Club has operated on the Peninsula since 1982 and currently runs classes for males and females on Tuesdays and Fridays in the main auditorium of the ESCC in Ettalong.

For more information, contact Lindy Simmons on 0434 000 170.

Press release, 26 Aug 2010 Lindy Simmons, Woy Woy Judo Club