Success in judo

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32613, 22 May 1971, Page 14

Success in judo

J. Churcher, W. Loader and A. Flynn were the most successful of a 17-strong Christchurch International club team which competed in the New Zealand junior judo championships at Wellington last week-end. All thrde youthful judokas managed to win titles in the championships, which attracted 170 of the Dominion’s most promising exponents of this particular Japanese martial art. Churcher took the intermediate light middleweight title, Loader the under Bst title and Flynn the under 6st title. Christchurch International dominated the 6st grade, with G. Briggs and M. Burnside gaining the second and third places behind Flynn. Other fine performances were recorded by D. Ohi (third in the under 7st grade), R. Prince (second in the under lOst grade), S. Wilson (third in the intermediate lightweight grade) and D. Martin (second in the intermediate light middle-weight grade). However, one of the unluckiest of the Christchurch competitors was P. Witteman, who gave an outstanding display in the intermediate light-weight grade, only to lose the chance of taking the title on a technicality. The team was coached and managed hy the former

New Zealand senior lightweight champion, J. W. Bonniface, who recently returned to Christchurch after more than 12 months in Japan studying several of the major Japanese martial arts.