Some traditions die hard! The Shimpokai's held its first Award and Closing Night in 1959 and it has been held every year since. It has grown somewhat since the first A&C Night. In the early years we had only one award, a handmade mahogany shield. This shield, handcrafted by one of our original members, John Crawford, still hangs in the club. The Shimpokai has always been primarily a kids orientated club and we believe that every kid needs a summer break, even if it's from his chosen sport. The Shimpokai judo season has always run from September 1 until the last Saturday in May. The club found out very early that once the warm weather comes kids soon disappear to outdoor activities. However, we also found out that every year 99% of our kids come back rejuvenated and enthusiastic when school opens in September. They need that summer break!
Now for the Award and Closing Night of May 25, 2004. We had 56 kids in attendance and we had 21 belt promotions. One promoted to White, four to Yellow, nine to Orange, two to Green and five to Blue. The club has a fairly strict grading approach with 20 practices required for White, 30 for Yellow, 40 for Orange and 50 for Green. The two kids promoted to Green are Peewees born in 1994 and the five promoted to blue are Cadets born in 1992. These are the club's youngest green and blue belts ever.
Award Winners for the 2003/2004 judo year:
Best Kids Competitors (two awarded)
Cadets, Martine Chenhall and Marcus Mason. Martine started competing this year and won every match and competition she entered. Marcus has the best competition record of our Cadet boys. Both show much promise.
Most Improved Kid (two awarded)
Cadet Pierre Luc Paulin and Peewee Daniel Hanson - just watch them next year!
Most Dedicated (two awarded)
The twins, Jacob and Oliver Sisk - our youngest green belts and real scrappers!
Most Valuable Member
Fifteen year old Drew Chenier. Drew was our juvenile representative at the 2004 Canadian Juvenile Championships in BC. He is our best juvenile competitor and assists with teaching at all our kid's classes. He sets a high standard for others to follow.
Most Improved Adult
George McMillan. George was a member of Shimpokai as a kid many, many, years ago but disappeared. George returned this year (much older!) but had excellent attendance and showed great skill improvement. Keep it up George and don't disappear again!
The "Dutchie" Sportmanship Award
Fernand Paulin. A father with two kids in judo who decided this year to take up the sport himself. Life begins at 40! Fernand attends every session, is always in good spirits, his enthusiasm is catching, is always ready to help others, and shows that judo can be fun and life does begin at 40! Congratulation Fernand!
Following the awards the club held its annual Pizza Party. A great way to end the judo season. Watch for the notice of our opening in September. As always, each club member will be notified personally of our start-up date. Have a good summer! --"Dutchie"
May 8, 2004 - Go NB Kids Judo Championship - Fredericton, N.B.
The first Go NB Kids Judo Championships were hosted in Fredericton by the Fredericton Judo Club on Saturday May 8, 2004. Four clubs were represented: Fredericton Judo Club, Oromocto Judeo Club, Harvey Judo Club and the Shimpokai. The Shimpokai was represented by 14 young competitors from 9 to 12 years of age. The club had a good day and following are the Shimpokai results:
Peewees - born in 1993-94
1st. Place - Gold Medal Winners
-35kgs. Oliver Sisk
-38kgs. Stephanie LeBlanc
-43kgs. Megan Mazerolle
-48kgs. Daniel Hanson
2nd. Place - Silver Medal Winners
-30kgs. Simon Paulin
-33kgs. Zachery Dumont
-35kgs. Jacob Sisk
-38kgs. Melanie Mason
-45kgs. Phillippe Savoie
3rd. Place - Bronze Medal Winner
-43kgs. Erica Downing
Cadets - born in 1991-92
1st. Place - Gold Medal Winner
-38kgs. Marcus Mason*
2nd. Place - Silver Medal Winner
-38kgs. Nigel Sisk
Also, Peewees Marie Christine Savoie and Mitchell Woodhouse placed 4th in their respective weight categories.
* Marcus Mason won the Award for the Top Competitor of the Day and the Shimpokai won the Award as the Top Club. All in all a good Shimpokai day!
Jason Stears was our Coach for the meet and the following parents travelled with the team to give support - Jeanette LeBlanc, Claudette Downing, Fernand Paulin, Sherry Mazerolle, Mr. and Mrs. Sisk, Mr. Hanson, Mr. Dumont, Mr. Woodlhouse, Mr. and Mrs. Savoie, and Mr. and Mrs. Mason. We thank all for their support! Finally, our thanks to Mike Hetherington for a well run tournament.
May 22, 2004 - Eastern Canadians - Edmunston, N.B.
The two Saint John clubs, Shimpokai and Kiyokan, each sent four competitors to this tournament. A total of 106 competitors from 23 clubs participated.
Results for Shimpokai and Kiyokan:
Shimpokai:
Cadet Female +54kgs
Martine Chenhall (Gold 5W 0L - chosen "Athlete of the Tournament"!)
Cadet Male -42kgs
Marcus Mason (2W 2L)
Juvenile Male -60kgs
Josh Shannon (2W 2L)
Juvenile and Junior Male -81kgs & -90kgs
Drew Chenier (2W 3L)
Kiyokan:
Senior Male -73kgs
Peter Montague (Gold - formerly a Shimpokai now a Kiyokan member, is probably the top junior and senior -73 kgs competitor in the province!)
Junior Female -48kgs
Amy Merry (Gold - also won a Silver in the Juvenile category)
Juvenile Female -52kgs (yellow to green belt)
Candace MacGillvray (Silver)
Senior Male -81kgs
Stephen Breen (0W 2L)
John Mallory was the Coach of the Shimpokai team while John Parent and Carrie Murray were the coaches of the Kiyokan team.
April 3, 2004 - Atlantic Championships - Charlottetown, PEI
Results:
Cadets - Male
-34kgs. Pierre Luc Poulin - 2nd place, Silver medal (4 wins 2 losses)
-42kgs. Marcus Mason - 3rd place, Bronze medal (2 wins 2 losses)
-42kgs.Tyler Chambers (1 win 2 losses)
-46kgs. Mathieu Dooucet - 3rd place, Bronze medal (2 wins 2 losses)
Cadets - Female
-57kgs. Martine Chenhall - 1st place, Gold Medal (4 wins 0 losses)
Juvenile - Male
-60kgs. Josh Shannon (0 wins 2 losses)
Junior - Female
-57 kgs. Jessica Landry - awarded Gold medal
-63 kgs. Jessica Landry (0 wins 2 losses)
Senior - Male
-73kgs Fernand Paulin - 2nd place, Silver medal (2 wins 2 losses)
-200kgs. George McMillan (0 wins 2 losses)
Congratulations to all! Nine competitors made the trip with John Mallory as coach. We thank the parents who went along to supply transportation and to cheer for our competitors. All in all a great day with 6 medals from 9 competitors - 2 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze. Next competition is the Eastern Canadians in Edmundston.
March 18, 2004 - Shimpokai Founder Inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame
On the evening of March 18th 2004 the Shimpokai On-The-Mat Committee, assisted by the Parent's Committee, held a special evening to honour the club's founder, Carl "Dutchie" Schell, on his induction into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame. His induction had been rumoured for some time and the club decided it was time to hold a celebration. With club Director Harold Stears acting as a professional MC, a great evening unfolded with practically all of the local judo people, judo kids of the club, and their parents filling the dojo.
To begin, several members from the past were on hand to the great surprise of Dutchie. Two such surprise guests were Don Glaspy and Paul Plume. These two had started in the club as children with Dutchie and had earned their black belts as teenagers with him back in the early 1970's. After more of these surprise introductions, Harold began reading one after another congratulatory messages, mostly e-mails, from former members across the country. (It seems that Harold had been working behind the scenes for quite sometime preparing for this event). Dutchie's wife Pat was presented with a large bouquet of roses and they sat together listening as Harold read out the many e-mails. To quote Dutchie, "It was like a night out of the past"!
Also, Harold had invited Fred Blaney, a representative of Judo Canada, to present to Dutchie the official certificate confirming his induction into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame. It was dated June 2002. Fred spoke of Dutchie's great contribution to judo over the years and pointed out that Don Glaspy, as a young black belt instructor from the Shimpokai attending UNB, had been his own first judo instructor. Fred went on to become the Canadian Champion on several occasions, a Pan-Am medal winner, and an Olympian.
There's more! Framed commendations were presented on behalf of Mayor Shirley McAlary and the Common Council of the City of Saint John, from Premier Bernard Lord and MLA Trevor Holder, and from the MP for Saint John, Elsie Wayne. Also presented was a plaque from the members of the club along with a monogrammed vest bearing the club name as well as Dutchie's in case he gets lost.
A banquet was held at the conclusion featuring a huge celebration cake. Again, to quote Dutchie, "It is overwhelming to be so highly honoured and to be remembered by so many for simply doing what I enjoyed doing so much for almost 50 years. It makes one very humble. This is a night to be remembered. Thanks everyone!"
February 14, 2004 - Max Steel Cup
On Saturday, February 14th Jason Stears took five of our young Shimpokai members to the Max Steel Cup in Clair, New Brunswick - A long trip!
Results:
Juvenile -66kgs: 4 competitors
Ilya Khalyapin 1st
Josh Shannon 2nd
Peewee -70kgs: 3 competitors
Byran Chambers 1st
Cadet -90kgs: 6 competitors round robin
Mathieu Doucet 3 wins 2 losses
Tyler Chambers 0 wins 5 losses - Tyler did not have a good day!
Thanks to Mr. Chambers for getting up at 3:00am to provide transportation for coach Jason Stears and our five competitors. The Max Steel Cup is held each year in Clair and is hosted by the Bushido Judo Club. Thanks to their instructor Daniel Ouellet for a well organized and well run tournament!
January 31, 2004 - Fredericton Friendship Tournament
Jason Stears and a few parents took seven of our young members to the Fredericton Friendship Tournament. Jason, our competitors, and the parents are to be congratulated on a good team effort and a great showing!
Results:
Cadet -39kgs. Category (born in 1991-92)
Tyler Chambers 1st Place
Christophe Hachey 2nd Place
Pierre Luc Paulin 3rd Place
Cadet -45kgs. Category (born 1991-92)
Mathieu Doucet 1st Place
Cadet -62kgs. Category (born 1991-92)
Martine Chenhall 1st Place
Christine Hachey 2nd Place
Peewee 32kgs. Category (born1993-94)
Jason Doucet 1st Place
Thanks to Jason for doing a good job of coaching and to the parents (Chambers, Chenhall, Hachey, Paulin and Doucet) for help with the transportation, support and enthusiasm. Thanks also to the Fredericton people who arranged the friendly tournament and especially to Fred Blaney who refereed all the matches. Kids deserve the best!
January 29, 2004 - New Club Opens in Saint John
Two former Shimpokai members have opened a new dojo in Saint John. John Parent and Carrie Murray, after a year or so with the Fredericton club, held the official opening of the their new club "Kiyokan" in the "Gothic Arches" in Saint John on January 29. The opening was a great success with an exceptionally good turnout of well wishers (old judo friends) from Saint John and Fredericton on hand. It is good to see the new club getting some old Shimpokai members back on the mat. There are lots of them out there! With the Quispamsis Judo Club and another former Shimpokai member, Jeff Porter, at the helm, we now have three judo clubs in our area. Being all Shimpokai members it appears we are all on the same page, especially with kids development. We are on the launch of a new era! It speaks well for the future of judo in Saint John and surrounding area. Our website will try to keep everyone informed.
Best wishes to the Kiyokan from the Shimpokai and the Quispamsis Judo Club.
December 7, 2003 - Christmas Cup, St. Quentin
28 kgs. Peewee Category - 7competitors:
Jason Doucet - 2nd place-silver medal
Brian Chambers - 3rd place-bronze medal
-38 kgs. Cadet Category - 6 competitors:
Tyler Chambers - 4th place
-42 kgs. Cadet Category - 4 competitors:
Mathieu Doucet - 2nd place-silver medal
Thanks to parents Eric Chambers and Mr. and Mrs. Doucet who made the trip and supported our athletes.
December 6, 2003 - N.B. Cup #1, St. Quentin
Jason Stears went as a competitor and also as a coach. He was successful on both counts.
Male-66 kgs. Senior Category:
Jason Stears - 2 wins 0 losses - 1st place- gold medal
Male Open Senior Category- 7 competitors:
Jason Stears - 3 wins 0 losses -1st place- gold medal
Male-60kgs. Juvenile Category:
Ilya Kalyapin, a new member of our club, in his first tournament, had an 0 win and 2 loss day.
Male-81kgs. Juvenile Category:
Drew Chenier - the only competitor in the province who turned up -was awarded gold medal.
Male -38 kgs. Cadet Category -7 competitors:
Tyler Chambers -4th place.
November 22-23, 2003 - Ontario Open Championships
Judo NB's 21 competitors picked up 1 Gold and 5 Bronze Medals at the Ontario Open Championships held in Toronto on November 22-23/2003. This was a very big tournament with some senior weight categories having as many as 33 competitors. We thank John Parent for supplying us with the results.
Category and Name, Wins and Losses, No. of competitors
Juvenile - Female
-48 kgs. -Myriam Lamarche, 3 and 0 for Gold Medal, 6
-48 kgs. -Amy Merry, 2 and 1 for Bronze Medal, 10
-44 kgs. -Monica Coulombe, 0 and 2, 3
-52 kgs. -Myriam Fortin, 1 and 2 for Bronze Medal, 6
-57 kgs. -Emile Fortin, 0 and 2, 12
Juvenile - Male
-60 kgs. -Rene-Pierre Bosse, 3 and 1 for Bronze Medal, 15
-66 kgs. -Christian Martin, 2 and 1 for Bronze Medal, 8
-55 kgs. -Andre-Pierre Bosse, 2 and 1, 14
+81 kgs.-Drew Chenier, 1 and 2, 7
Junior -Female
-63 kgs. -Marie-Anne Hachey, 0 and 2, 15
-70 kgs. -Jenny St. Jean, 1 and 2,
Junior -Male
-55 kgs. -Joey Tobin, 2 and 1 for Bronze Medal, 8
-55 kgs. -Maniel Thibideau, 0 and 2, 8
-73 kgs. -Stephen Breen, 2 and 2, 22
-73kgs. -Peter Montague, 0 and 2, 22
Senior -Female
-70 kgs. -Jenny St. Jean, 1 and 2, 13
-63 kgs. -Jennifer Landry, 3 and 2, 15
Senior- Male
-73 kgs. -Shawn McManus, 3 and 2, 31
-73 kgs. -Peter Montague, 2 and 2, 31
-73 kgs. -Francois Boutot, 1 and 1, 31
-81 kgs. -Serge Goguen, 2 and 2, 33
November 4th 2003 - Fredericton Fall Classic
Competitors came from NB, NS and PEI. Shimpokai sent 9 competitors to our first tournament of the year. We won 5 first place gold medals and 2 second place silver medals. Seven medals out of 9 competitors is a very good showing - WELL DONE!!.
Results:
Cadet Category
- 34kgs. - Marcus Mason - Gold
+ 54kgs. - Martine Chenhall - Gold
Juvenile Category
- 51kgs. - Josh Shannon - Gold
Senior Category (blue/black)
- 66kgs. - Jason Stears - Gold
Senior Category (orange)
-100kgs - James Stewart - Gold
Cadet Category
- 34kgs. - Tyler Chambers - Silver
Juvenile Category
+ 81kgs - Drew Chenier - Silver
Oliver Kasdan competed in the -34kgs. Cadet and Jessica Landry competed in the -70 Junior Category. Both competed well and gained considerable competition experience. Thanks to our coaches - John Mallory and Jason Stears. We'd also like to thank those parents who made the trip and supported our athletes. The supporting parents were: Mrs.Kasdan, Mr. Chenhall, Mr.Mason, Mrs. Chambers, and Mr. and Mrs. Chenier.
October 15th 2003 - The Judo Shimpokai has a New Home!
After a month of moving our mats (tatami) in and out of a gym before and after every practice we now have a true judo home once again, possibly our best ever! Our new home (dojo) is located in Millidgeville North School. We have our own room with a mat area of 60' x 30' with our tatami down to stay.
We wish to thank Henrietta Burns, principal of the school, for making our new judo home possible. She came to our rescue at a crucial time that saw our club in peril as it began its 44th year as a community-minded judo club.
Moving from our home in St Peter's Recreational Centre was not an easy task as we had completely renovated the inside over the years by insulating the walls and installing 2x4s and gyproc on all inside walls and installing a timer-controlled heating system. Also, our large mat area had been built on a "floating" 2x4 plywood platform in 4'x8' sections with all sections bolted together. This platform had to be taken apart, completely dismantled and removed from the premises. John Mallory, Harold Stears and Jason Stears were the people who took on the great task. Without them we would not be in "business" today. We wish to thank also all those who helped us through this very difficult time.
The good news is that we now have more club members than ever! See our Schedule Page for days and times that classes are operating in our new home.
September 1st 2003 - Shimpokai Loses its Dojo
After being at the same location for over 20 years we have lost our dojo. The church (our landlord) has decided to rebuilt, renovate and refurbish our premises at St. Peter’s Recreation Centre. Judo is not part of its future plans. However, our club will carry on and begin our regular boys and girls classes on Saturday, September 6, 2003 at Beaconfield School on Beaconfield Crescent, West Saint John. Our club will continue to operate out of the school gym as we continue to seek a more permanent home.
We would like to thank Mr. Arthur Sisk, principal of the school, for coming to our rescue and allowing us to use his school’s gym. Registration for Boys and Girls at Beaconfield School Gym Saturday, September 06, 2003
7-8-9 years of age: 9:30AM (minimum age 7 years)
10-11-12-13 years of age: 10:30AM
If you have any questions call 672-4667, 763-2322 or 634-0362
