How an Olympic judoka from Thunder Bay, Ont., is supporting the sport's next generation
Week-long judo supercamp being held at Thunder Bay's Chippewa Park
The first female judoka to represent Canada at the Olympics is fighting to keep the sport alive in northwestern Ontario.
Thunder Bay's Sandra Greaves, who competed in the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games, is directing a week-long judo supercamp at Chippewa Park.
It's a rare opportunity for athletes from across the region to come together, when they typically must travel to Winnipeg or Toronto to compete in tournaments.
"We are completely unfunded and the membership dollars don't go back into the region. There's no travel budget and we're so far apart," said Greaves.
"It's really, really prohibitive to try and have these get-togethers."
Instructors drove from North Bay and Toronto to help facilitate this week's activities, which also include swimming, carousel rides and bonfires, with more than 50 participants staying in cabins, tents and RVs on site.
"Without the support of them, the participants, we wouldn't be able to do it," Greaves said.
"We're all a bunch of old people now that hobble around and don't even have any joints left, but we can't see [judo] die. Camps are just critical."
There are two judo clubs in the city: Thunder Bay Judo Dojo and Mountainside Judo Club. However, Greaves said there may be a new Kaiju club starting up next year.
'We all fell in love with it'
For the Woods, judo is a family affair. Starting with 13-year-old Liam, father Travis eventually joined his son on the mat, before nine-year-old Brayden and mother Erin decided to give the sport a try.
All four of them made the nearly four-hour trek from Fort Frances to be part of the camp.
"It's pretty awesome how our family can do something together, and then we also have a larger judo family," Erin Wood said.
"I don't think the sportsmanship compares to anything else, any other sport," Travis Wood added. "We all fell in love with it."
While both boys enjoy the practical side of the camp, Brayden said his favourite part is going swimming in Lake Superior.
Siblings Claire and Ajax Ren have also taken a liking to the water. The pair came from Toronto to participate in the camp, first stopping in Sudbury to visit the Dynamic Earth science centre and over nine-metre-high replica nickel.
"The skills here are really important and they're actually fun to learn, but I guess one of my favourite moments was heading to the beach," said Claire, 13.
"'I also like going to the beach," 10-year-old Ajax added.
Their advice to other inspiring judo artists is to stay open-minded and persistent in their practice.
"In judo, we do it with maximum efficiency and minimum effort," Claire said.
"It doesn't matter about their body shape or type, [they] can be young or old," Ajax said. "Anybody can join."
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