Friday the 24th of February 2017,
On Arrival, the atmosphere was electric. All the teams in their official team gear, led by the guides through the state of the art sports complex to the weight control room. Joining the long que, we waited for our turn on the scales. Aiming for the last month to be in the -73kg category. Eventually it gets to Paul. Onto the scales and BOOM!! 72.8KG. Time to go eat!
Saturday morning we woke at 7am and joined all the other teams downstairs in the hotel for breakfast. The nerves were getting to some Judoka, only a glass of juice for some while others went back for seconds. At 8.30 we boarded the bus and made our way to the venue. Into the coaches briefing and I got handed the draw for both the cadets and the senior event. Looking at some of the world ranking numbers belonging to the players in Pauls respective category I knew it would be a challenging day but never lost faith that in Judo, when the two players are on the Tatami, anything is possible.
Upon returning to the competition hall, I was greeted to the sight of Paul on the mats , warming up and taking part in some of the exercises that Team GB were going through. We received a fantastic welcome from every nation at the competition but Team GB were there throughout the day supporting Paul in his first outing on the Visually Impaired world circuit.
As the day progressed I was unable to take any pictures of Paul in action as I was busy sitting mat-side in the coachs’ chair offering advice and keeping Paul updated on the time remaining in his contests. Something that sighted Judoka can easily take for granted as they can simply turn their head and take a quick glance at the scoreboard.
The competition was fierce, Athletes from all over the world were present, I use the term Athletes because that’s what they were, some of the most competitive and able bodied judo players I have ever seen. The range of techniques on display was phenomenal, the ability to change direction whilst hoping backwards of an attack and still able to place their foot in the exact position required to enable them to complete their favoured throw. To put simply for anyone who does not practice Judo, These Judoka yet visually impaired would not be out of place in a mainstream event.
For Paul and I, this was our first opportunity to see where the bar is at, now we have to go back to the Dojo, put in the long gruelling hours, pick ourselves up from the nature of defeat and go again. I had one final post on Facebook after the competition that you can find below. One thing I noticed throughout the weekend was the support that received from home. Lots of shares of our posts, many messages and comments of well wishes.
Again, I would like to take an opportunity to thank everyone involved in making Pauls debut on the VI circuit possible. To everyone at Vision sports, Judo Ireland , Childvision and all of the Judo clubs that have allowed Paul to practice as he continues his training in search of the next VI event.
