Off-shore April 2018 / The McTraining Continues on Saturday 3-5pm / Auckland International Open.... awesome!

Team… what a weekend!

So very proud of all those who competed!!!

Training at Judokwai this Saturday 3-5pm… let's head down to McDonalds immediately afterwards and treat the kids at 5.15pm   : )

(Chelsea, I promised you McD's if you won your final two fights in the Open - and even though you finished looking like an Egyptian mummy in under 10 seconds, I am hoping Mum and Dad stopped for McD's on the way home on Sunday night…. if they didn't, I owe you a meal on Saturday after training).

Our Champions… Tatalong, Lewis, Mitchell, Blake, Jurlina, Amber

Our Medalists… Igor, Gen, Vinay, Keegan, Alex, Matthew, Taylor, Zack, Niek, Teddy, Emma, Charlotte, Cristyn, Savannah, Kheang, Lynton, Chelsea, Tara, Kawa

But also, huge emphasis on those who did not medal, but fought bravely and increased their experience and developed their skills… you also made me very, very proud.

A massive thank you to our parents and club coaches for all your support - we tired you out, we aged you… and we are so grateful for your support.

Lester and the Auckland Judo Association; Lawrie and the AIO Organising Committee; Volunteers and Referees… we so much appreciate all your hard work / and "at home" Auckland events save us a huge amount of money, and allow us to qualify for New Zealand Representation!  Every Auckland event like this makes it easier for us to qualify for New Zealand Representation / every event that does not happen in Auckland (like North Islands)… with reduces our chance of selection or increases our costs.  -THANKS FOR MAKING THIS GREAT WEEKEND POSSIBLE!

Finally… a big "heads up" for April 2018.  We are planning on a nine day training trip to either Tahiti or New Caledonia - this will be for our older Senior Boys and Girls; Cadets; Juniors and Seniors on a case-by-case basis.  Training will be twice a day, and it is intended to set you up for the most successful AIO; OJU's and NZ Champs possible in 2018.  Start saving and fundraising now - we will be making it affordable as possible… it will be a lot of fun; and very, very hard work.  Australia at the beginning of this year was hugely valuable and successful for the Auckland Squad… next year, we will step it up a level!

Keep up the good work and commitment to training - the results will continue to come… but we need to be training harder and smarter than everyone else.

We are now well positioned for the New Zealand Championships in October… keep the momentum going!!!

Robert Levy

Auckland Area Coach

robertlevy@xtra.co.nz