THE Highlands International Judo Club (dojo at Robertson) sent six fighters to an international judo competition in Tweed Heads last month.
The Robertson fighters did the Highlands proud with a number of them picking up podium finishes.
o In the boys under-12 middleweight, Ben “Cougar” Coulter, flattened everyone in his division with ease, taking the gold medal with a dominant performance.
o In the boys light heavyweight under-15s, the toughest division by far at the tournament, Angus Mauger came away with a bronze medal.
o In the girls middleweight under-17, Melissa Budirato, only 13-years old, destroyed her older opponents to take the gold with ease. She even beat a higher graded older girl in the process. After winning the division, Budriato was put into the boys division to get a workout and got a bronze there as well.
o Rebecca Mauger won her weight division against a higher grade in the women’s before facing a much bigger opponent in the open class.
o In the men’s special needs, Nick Riches won his division and then got a second in the open division, despite doing no training.
o Men’s heavyweight Jesse Mauger entered three divisions and got three medals. While there were no golds, club stalwarts agree it is only a matter of time for big Jesse.
The team’s attention is on the state championships in Wollongong this month. For further information on judo contact the instructor Terry Riches on 4862 2712.