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Judo
fans should circle May 8th and 9th on their calendars as those are
the dates that Burnt Hills, NY and the BH-BL High School gymnasium
become the epicenter for North American judo.
Over 500 competitors from half a dozen countries, 20 states and 4
Canadian provinces are expected to descend on southern Saratoga
county for two days. May 9th marks the first annual instructional
camp offered as a compliment to the Morris Cup.
The 2010 Morris Cup will be the 9th annual and again it will feature
$3500 in prize money. Morris Cup IX will also again represent the
4th leg of the famed Zebra tour which includes sister tournaments in
New York City, Providence, Boston & Buffalo. Competitors who win
their respective divisions in all five events pick up an extra $1250
in prize money from Zebra tour event organizers. |
Last year’s event
featured Nick Kossor, an ’04 graduate of BH-BL High School,
winning the men’s 60kg division after winning the first three legs
of the ’09 Zebra Tour and collecting the first such $1000 prize. The
Am Can in Buffalo, NY was added for the 2010 Zebra tour.
An always humble and hard-working Kossor (2008 National champion)
reflected about last year’s event, “Knowing that there are four
events (now five) in a five-month period and that you will be
recognized for consistent excellent performance certainly helps a
judo player harness his or her emotions and then get and stay
focused. I was totally pumped for last year’s event because there
was more at stake. To have a reward system for an accumulated body
of work by an active athlete is great thing for US judo. If I can
stay healthy I’d like to be in a similar
position again on May 8 of 2010. “
See you there. !
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