Last weekend, we traveled to the 2011 US Jr. Olympics, held in Dallas, Texas. It was the best turnout in history, with over 900 matches played the first day! After a long period where I was not happy with where judo was going, this tournament was refreshing. Ne waza, or ground techniques were much more prominent, as longer times were allowed for kids to work pins. The refereeing, for the most part, was very good, and it seemed a bit “relaxed” between the coaches, players and referees.

Brooklyn Day was our MVP for the tournament, as she had to go through 2 playoffs due to three way ties for 2nd and 3rd place. She was the smallest weight in her class, and was much smaller than her competition, but she did great, and we were all very proud of her.

From OKCDT, we had the following people compete:

• Joelle Glimp- Silver & Bronze (IJF)
• Camryn Conroy
• Brooklyn Day- Silver (IJF) & 4th
• Leslie Day
• Bam West
• Carlee West
• Dylan Palmer- Silver