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Written by Jason Peters, Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 07 July 2009 |
A three-way tiebreaker, with a Canadian judo title going to the winner.
It's no wonder Kolton Ferris felt like he was being crushed under the pressure of the moment. But, after two wins -- the second in thrilling fashion -- Ferris knew national gold was his. He claimed the medal Sunday in Calgary, host city for the Canadian junior championships.
"All the stress was gone after I won," said the 17-year-old Ferris, a member of Prince George's Hart Judo Academy. "I was on my knees and I yelled to the crowd and threw my arms up after my big throw."
Ah yes, the big throw. Ferris delivered it against Nunavut athlete Eugene Dederick and was instantly awarded the victory. Dederick had tried to sweep out Ferris's right leg, but Ferris was able to counter that attempt and took Dederick over backwards.
Earlier in the tiebreaker, Ferris defeated another Nunavut opponent, Louis Natarariak. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, each judoka finished with a 1-1 record. In round robin, Ferris beat Natarariak but fell to Dederick.
All three athletes were competing in the over-100-kilogram category for their age group, but Ferris had to chow down the day before so he could make the minimum weight requirement. At weigh-ins, he was listed at 101kgs.
"I had to make the weight or else I would have got fined 200 bucks and not been able to fight," Ferris said from Calgary, where he is now participating in a national-level training camp. "I had to eat a lot. I ate a lot of pasta and steak and pork and stuff like that. But now I'm burning it all off."
Ferris has eight or nine years of judo experience but had been out of the sport for the past two seasons. He was focusing on football but decided he was getting out of shape and better get himself back on the mat.
After qualifying for nationals and now winning them, he obviously made the right call.
Bruce Kamstra, head instructor at the Hart Judo Academy, said Ferris had to deal with a serious learning curve this season.
"I think he did really well, considering everything," Kamstra said. "He finished with style."
Kamstra opened the Hart club
in 1998, the same year he won his own Canadian title as an athlete. Ferris now joins Kamstra as the only national champs under the HJA roof.
If Ferris and Kamstra squared off, the coach has a pretty good idea who would win.
"I've still got a little bit on him, for another year or so," Kamstra said with a laugh.
Four members of the North Capital Judo Club -- Eric Halsall, Meagan Howard-Gibbon, Brandon Slooyer and Robyn Jones -- also competed at the championships. Halsall was the most successful of the North Capital crew. He fought in the U-15 boys under-50-kilogram category and went 2-2. Halsall made it to the bronze-medal round but lost to George Lukas of Victoria and finished in fifth place.
Howard-Gibbon, in the U-17 women's under-70kg class, battled to a 1-2 record. Slooyer (U-15 boys, under-46kg) and Jones (U-20 women, over-78kg) were both winless in two bouts.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 July 2009 )
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