Canty judokas perform well

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 34

Canty judokas perform well

Canterbury judokas won two gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the Oceania Judo Union Tournament at Rotorua, at the week-end.

This biennial highlight of competitive judo in the South Pacific attracted more than 300 fighters from four countries.

Local Canterbury players did well. Lance Setu, a 15-year-old schoolboy from the International Judo Club won his intermediate under-65kg title as well as the open. Setu, a brown belt, used confidence and skill to beat his often more experienced opponents. Sandra Manderson, of Christchurch, New Zealand representative, was the shock and surprise of the women’s division. Although she won the under-61kg weight at the 1977 Oceanias in Melbourne, she was defeated in her first fight on Saturday by a relatively unknown Australian woman.

Manderson was wiped out of this weight event and Francis Roelofs, an International clubmate of Manderson’s, fought well to win a second place. This was Roelofs first major senior competition.

Manderson, however came back to win the gold in the first women’s open division to be held at Oceania level.

Her seasoned fighting technique assured her a win over the British women’s under-56kg winner, Sue Hendy, and Roelofs. Arihia Ruwhiu, a Canter, bury Amateur Judo Club player, also in the New Zealand representative team, fought exceptionally well to win a silver in the under* 72kg event. Ivor Endicott-Davies narrowly missed a gold medal when he fought in the men’s under-95kg event. His final bout against Australia’s Barry Johnson was a cliffhanger until the final moments when Johnson won by penalties against Davies. Other placings by Canter* bury players were won by: Graeme Spinks, a bronze in the young men’s under-71 kg event; Kevin O’Connor, a silver in the intermediate under-54kg event; Mark Smith, a bronze in the junior men’s under-78kg and open divisions; Leith Davidson, a bronze in the junior men’s under-65kg event, and Adrian Dalzell, a bronze in the junior men’s under-55kg event.