The Tribune

THE Bahamas’ judo team has been preparing for both the 2013 July US Junior Open and the 2013 August World Cadet Championships since September, 2012, according to a press release.

The World Cadet team is partially supported by a grant from the Bahamas Olympic Committee. “With improved techniques and longer training sessions, our national team is the fittest team we’ve had yet,” says junior national coach Chrisnell Cooper.

With morning practices starting at 5:30am, the judo team starts their day with running and a cardio work out. During their school days, their next practice would be a judo technical training session, held in the evening, at the national headquarters in All Star Family.

“At the start of their summer break, training hours increased, because judo is primarily a summer sport. This increased their training to 12 hours a week, excluding their personal weight lifting training that each team member was personally responsible for,” said the release.

The federation has increased their standards as was needed, to create elite internationally competitive judokas. A total of 17 judokas will be competing in the 2013 July US Junior Open and three of them will be competing in the 2013 August World Cadet Championships.

Persons interested in Bahamas Judo can visit the headquarters on Joe Farrington Road or call 364-6773.