Two students of Borderland Judo have just received their Ontario Regional referring certification from Judo Ontario.
Rosina Woodgate and Sawyer Lance, at just age 11 years of age, are the youngest in the province to have achieved this qualification. They, along with several others from the region, attended the Referee Clinic put on by Borderland Judo in conjunction with their tournament back in January. At the recent Thunder Bay judo tournament, Woodgate and Lance were refereeing some of the younger divisions, along with four other members from the Fort Frances club and two from the Thunder Bay clubs. One of the organizers of the tournament, a National Level Referee, spotted Woodgate and Lance and wrote to the Judo Ontario Referee Chair to highlight their efforts.
“I recommend both Rosina and Sawyer be promoted to Provincial C (Ontario Regional),” the representative wrote.
“They have excellent knowledge of the rules, good mat control, and were clear and confident with their signals.”
The Judo Ontario Referee Chair reviewed their information and agreed.
Speaking to Woodgate and Lance regarding their accomplishment, their love of judo and earning their referee certification was apparent.
Woodgate shared that she’s been in the Borderland Judo club since she was four years old. She has earned her green belt and has all intentions of reaching the highest standing of earning her black belt in the future, even though that’s a long way off.
“I’m happy to be a referee it allows me to be involved with live round practices, work with younger kids and to learn referring skills,” she said.
Woodgate also said her favourite part of judo is improving and learning new skills, and shared that learning she had been recommended for the promotion to the Provincial C Ontario Regional was an exciting surprise.
“I was shocked, a good shock!” she said.
Lance said he’s been in judo since he was six years old. He’s achieved his green belt and is currently working towards his blue. He has all intentions to achieve top ranking and said he knows he’ll be in judo for a long time to come. Lance feels very confident in the skills he’s learned to achieve his referee certification, and said some of the reasons he wanted to improve his qualifications were that you get to learn more about judo and what you can and can’t do, including penalties and being more aware. Lance said his favourite part of judo is the discipline and exercise, and shared that he was also quite thrilled to be to recommend and promoted to Provincial C Ontario Regional.
Both Woodgate and Lance would strongly recommend all youth to join judo. They highly praise their judo instructors, sharing that they are easy to work with, and they work really hard to see that everyone does their best.
Perhaps the most important thing Woodgate and Lance have learned is the favourite quote of instructor Gord Witherspoon, “You either win or you learn.”
