Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bahamas Judo Sends Team to Pan American Juvenile Championship



The Bahamas Judo Federation will be sending a team to
the Juvenille Pan Am Championships to be held in Panama
on October 2nd.

The team was selected based on meeting certain physical and
technical criteria, participation in an intensive summer training camp,
and tournament results in the Bahamas Open held in August.

The team is preparing by training 20 hours per week under the watchful
eyes of Federation Coach D'Arcy Rahming. The team consists of
Elaina Cuffy (age 11) Eastwood Judo, Tajaro Hudson (age 13) Western
Judo Jiujitsu, Artio McPhee (age 11) All Star Family Judo, and
Andrew Munnings (age 11) All Star Family Judo.

"I want to bring home the Gold," says Andrew, who will be fighting in
his first international tournament outside the Bahamas. "The kids have trained
very hard for this," said Federation President D'Arcy Rahming. "This
will be quite an experience for them. We are not concerned with
winning or losing at this stage, just competing well."

The Bahamas Judo Federation has began the development process
that is used by other countries for producing Olympic Champions.
This requires athletes to begin serious training for international
competitions by the age of 11.

For further information or to sponsor future athletes, please contact
the Bahamas Judo Federation at 364-6773.

###


Photo: Athletes L to R: Elaina, Artio, Andrew, Tajaro
Coach: Federation President D'Arcy Rahming

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Bahamas Olympic Committee Sends Judo Coach to European University

When Chrisnell Cooper took a Judo class at the College of the Bahamas in January 2008, she had no idea that this would lead to world travel as well as a scholarship to study for four months in Hungary. She has been awarded a scholarship by the Bahamas Olympic Committee to study Judo Coaching at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.

After passing the COB Judo class with an A, Chrisnell became a Junior Coach for Federation Affiliate All-Star Family Center focusing on preschool and primary school development. She also joined the National Team practicing 20 hours a week while at COB. She represented the Bahamas at the World Cup in Brazil and at the Pan American Championships in Miami.

"When I was younger I enjoyed wrestling with my cousins. Judo has afforded me many opportunities that would have been virtually impossible and it has helped me to shape my character, dig deeper and discover new things about myself." said Chrisnell. "I am from a large family of 4 sisters and 5 brothers, so I could not afford to study abroad on my own."

"I am grateful to the Bahamas Olympic Committee and the Bahamas Judo Federation who have had the confidence in me. I look forward to giving back when I return and advancing the sport of Judo in the Bahamas."

Anyone seeking more information on the Bahamas Judo Federation can contact the Federation at the Headquarters All Star Family Center on Joe Farrington Road. Or call 364-6773 or visit the website atwww.bahamasjudo.com.