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Hereford, 2 May 2006: Silver for Min Vincent
Min's done it again, returning from the BJC Junior National Championships with the Silver trophy for Female Espoirs Under 60 kg.
She was keen to put herself to the test as a new senior in the Espoirs category at the Nationals, even though she was the only one entering from the club this year, and even when she found out that her weight category had been combined with the next group up due to a shortage of entrants for the Under 56 kg in the Female Espoirs!
She had three fearsome fights against the other girls in the Under 60 kg group. She managed to beat her first opponent, after a long battle, with a strangle hold (no surprises there!). Her second bout was an up-hill struggle as Min was clearly the lighter weight. She fought hard, but the other girl won. The third bout almost went to full time, and it was beginning to look as though Min would win on points awarded so far, when she finally beat her opponent with an ippon throw. It was great to see how much her judo is improving. Fighting at this level, she didn't get many opportunities to apply her famous strangle, but it was obvious she is now confident to try lots of other judo moves. She also displayed some good defensive judo, avoiding throws and extricating herself from hold-downs time and again.
It was a pleasure to watch the girls fighting with such good sportsmanship. Each contest was fought with a serious intent to win, but as soon as the bout was over, there would be smiles, handshakes and even hugs. What a great sport!
Min was thrilled to win the silver trophy, but equally delighted to have had the chance to do judo with girls of similar ability. It's not often she gets to fight other senior females, and the men in the Club have a tendency to treat her gently, which she finds a bit frustrating. Okay, maybe not John. Or Mart. Or Ter, or Andy. Or Patrick, Alex, Robert, or Joe ...
Deb Vincent, May 2006 |
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