Northern Ireland Open 2017 James Silver, Karis Bronze

James and Karis competed in the Northern Ireland Open in Derry on the 23rd April.

1st to weigh in and compete was James fighting in the Cadet u18 age group and the u50kg weight group after a by ( he was seeded no 2 ) , his first fight he won in Golden score ( new rules mean no yukos and wazari score 1 and no amount of wazari lead to ippons now so you can do numerous wazari throws ) James then managed to win against his next opponent who  He had previously lost to in the championships. This result took James through to the final for gold or silver after being equal after the 4 minutes it was then Golden score again in the end James lost to a shido after being exhausted so a well earned Silver medal. 

Karis was in a pool of 5 and managed a great 1st win by ippon in under 30 seconds she was less succesful in other fights but learned a lot and earned a bronze medal and valuable ippon points in her group of pre-cadets u15 u63kg. 

A great day for our vale judoka we will definitely be coming to this tanking comp again big thanks to Derek for his coaching.