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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 DECEMBER 2018 21 SPORTS FOOTBALL SPORTS JUDO THE National Judo Champi- onships started with the tradi- tional Children Festival. Close to 100 children, aged four to 11 shared the tatami (Judo Mat) at the Malta Judo National Dojo. Sensei Joseph Castillo conduct- ed a great warmup with core and coordination exercises. The Dragons then participat- ed in judo games, but also had a taste of competition when they participated in Randori (com- petition training), under the coordination of several coach- es from Maltese Judo Clubs. At the end of the two-hour session, each child was called to the top podium, where they were presented with a gold medal each. The next session was that of the Espoirs, aged 12 to 14. Tigne Judo Club dominated this age category, winning three out of the five gold. The National Champions in this age category are: Tigne Judo Club: Kris Samuel Bartolo -46 kgs, Claude Brincat -55 kgs, Gianluca Mizzi – 60 kgs; Shirojudokwai Dojo: Le- onor Castillo -40 kgs; Malta Judo Academy: Estelle Camill- eri -52 kgs. This age group has been only recently exposed to a regular international circuit, and the athletes have shown commitment. Some of them will be moving to the next age category, that of Cadets, and a new generation of Espoir will start next January. Two male cadet categories were contested. The National Champions were Owen Cauchi -55 kgs from Tigne Judo Club and Nikola Zvicer -73 kgs from the Malta Judo Academy. In the Junior categories an- other two categories were con- tested. In the females -57 kgs, three very strong elements battled for the title. Cardona Alanis (Mellieha Judo Club) gave a great performance, and had a very close call with Es- posito Katryna (Tigne Judo Club), but placed third. Esposito, who weighed in for the -52 kgs, moved up a cat- egory, as her category was un- contested, and still managed to secure a silver medal. Lara Cas- tillo (Shirjudokwai Dojo) was dominant, and beat her two op- ponents, winning the gold medal and the National title. The first and second podiums were in- verted, when Katryna Esposito beat Lara Castillo, and thus won the senior title. In the males' cat- egory, Nathan Falzon won the National Title in the -90 kgs. In the Senior categories, the following won the National titles: Kamikwai Judo Club: Butters Kurt -66 kgs, Cheryl Cachia -63 kgs; Malta Judo Academy: Kriss Law -60 kgs; Kinsu Dojo: Francesco Aufieri -90 kgs; Tigne Judo Club: Ka- tryna Esposito - 57kgs. This was the last competitive event of the year for the Malta Judo Federation. The coaches and officials are all gearing up for an exciting and successful 2019. Photos and videos of this event may be viewed on the Malta Judo Federation Face- book page. 46th Judo National Championships