Judo nominees away

Press, 25 July 1986, Page 36

Judo nominees away

There is a 50 per cent chance that when the Canterbury “Judoka of the Year” is announced at a special dinner in Christchurch on Sunday evening the winner will be absent. Of the four nominations for the award two, Mike Smith and John Moody, are overseas. Both are competing for New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games in which judo is a demonstration sport.

The other candidates are Brenda Leftly and Graeme Spinks, who are among 150 entrants for the Canterbury invitation championships tomorrow. The Canterbury Judo

Area Association has booked an international call to Edinburgh for Sunday, but this does not necessarily mean the winner, will be there. The purpose is to inform Smith and Moody of the outcome -of the voting, one way or another. Spinks has already won the award twice, in 1983 and 1984, and Moody was successful last year. In the absence of Smith and Moody it is expected that Spinks, Phil McSweeney and Wayne Carter will figlit out the senior men’s open title at St Thomas’s College tomorrow. Among the junior men two Central Districts

players, Lyndon Jones and Simon Gregg, are expected to be prominent Leftly is the favourite for the women’s open and Raewyn Roberts (Central Districts) stands out among the entrants for the young women’s section.

An encouraging aspect is the entries from’ members of a fairly new club, Kaikoura. The week-end’s activities launch the Canterbury Judo Week for 1986. During the week clubs will be having open nights and giving displays. The Canterbury Public Library will have a display in its window.