LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Members of the Fort Simpson Judo Club strengthened their existing skills and developed new ones during intensive training last weekend.

Arron Antoine, standing, and Nathaniel Tsetso participate in a drill designed to practice stand-up and ground technique during the regional judo camp on March 22. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

The club hosted a C3 regional judo camp for the first time from March 21 to 22. C3 stands for the co-operation of clubs in three regions of the territory including the South Slave, Deh Cho and North Slave.

Fort Simpson judoka, judo practitioners, have gone to regional camps three years in a row in Hay River, but having a camp in their home community has brought additional benefits, said Dean Harvey, the club's sensei. Twenty-five judoka, the majority ranging in age from eight to 19, participated in the camp.

Normally, the younger athletes aren't able to attend the camps when they are held in other communities, Harvey said. The camp also allowed local adults to get more training so local leadership can be enhanced.

The participants spent two hours on Friday night with Mario Desforges of Yellowknife, the head of the NWT Judo Association, on the mats in the upstairs of the recreation centre and had two sessions on Saturday that both lasted for at least two hours. The athletes worked on a variety of skills, including stand-up techniques, throws, ground work and hold downs.

Games that incorporated exercise and physical literacy skills were also done with the younger participants. It was an intensive learning situation, Harvey said.

"They can learn more in one judo camp like this than they can in two months after school," he said.

A guest instructor, especially one with a strong personality like Desforges, can also get the athletes to focus for a lot longer than they normally would, Harvey said.

The practices were hard because they involved a lot of physical exercise, said Nathaniel Tsetso, 14. Tsetso and Arron Antoine, 12, said they both learned some new techniques, including some throws.

Having both been to camps in Hay River, Tsetso and Antoine said it was good to have one in their home community. The two judoka agreed that working with Desforges makes them realize they have to practice more to be proficient at judo.

"He's a hard worker," Tsetso said.

Desforges encourages you to push yourself more, said Antoine.

It was a very good weekend, Desforges said. The youth have made a lot of progress.

In addition to increasing the skills of all of the judoka, Deforges wants to see more athletes in the territory developed to a level where they can go to competitions.

"We can be a powerhouse in judo here," he said about the NWT.