Six judo clubs, including three from Alaska, showcased their martial arts skills at the Canada Games Centre this weekend for the 2012 Yukon Judo Championships.

The tournament was made up from three local clubs: Golden Horn, Northern Lights and Shiroumakai, and three teams from the US: Capitol City from Juneau and Mountain View and Fireweed, of Anchorage.

The tournament was broken down into eight age divisions, ranging from U9 to senior men, and also featured knowledge and Ukemi (break falls) competitions.

In total, Yukoners won 33 medals compared to 14 for the Alaskans.

Dan Poelman, president of Judo Yukon, said he came away impressed with the efforts on the mats and the knowledge competitions.

"It was a good overall tournament and a good way to finish the year,” he said.

"It was nice to have the Alaska clubs come over and compete as well.”

Bruce Kamstra, who was Canadian champion in 1998, and currently runs the Heart Judo Academy in Prince George, B.C. also traveled to Whitehorse to be part of the international competition.

Kamstra held several training sessions for both the athletes and coaches while in Whitehorse.

"I'm trying to introduce some different ideas for teaching skills and make it a little more fun for the kids,” he said.

"As coaches we can get complacent with the way we teach judo so it's important to add variety to the classes.”

Kamstra, who started coaching in 1998 and is the current head coach of the B.C. provincial team, has been involved with Judo Yukon since 2003.

"I was very happy Dan invited me in May instead of January like he usually does, I was very happy to come up this time,” he said.

"The kids have been really great, they all seem to be having lots of fun, and so are the coaches.”

The championships mark the end of a successful season for the Yukon clubs who competed in several Outside competitions this season, including a trip to the West Edmonton Mall for the International Judo Championships in March.

"They had over 600 competitors from all across Canada, the States and the world,” said Poelman of that event. "That was a really good competition for team Yukon and we had some good results.”

The Yukon championships were the fourth and final local tournament of the season.

Each of the Whitehorse clubs hosted a tournament this year for local athletes while also inviting Outside clubs.

Aside from handing out gold, silver and bronze medals for each age division, the championships also awarded those who displayed sportsmanship, knowledge and toughness.

"Some of the kids aren't necessary competitive in terms of fighting but they're competitive with their brains, they know the judo words, terminology and Japanese words,” said Poelamn.

"I thought that should be showcased, as well and rewarded.”

Melia Hudgin of Whitehorse's Northern Lights Judo still found a way to take home a gold medal despite being unable to fight due to injury.

Hudgin placed first overall in the intermediate judo knowledge competition, a result that came as no surprise said Poelman.

"She always does really well, she's one of the few people that actually gets 100 per cent,” he said.

"She was a last minute entry and won her category. She likes to study that stuff and it's part of the champions league so we encourage all sorts of skills including knowledge.”

Another impressive performance came from Daniel Baird of Anchorage's Mountain View club who took on multiple duties throughout the tournament.

"He's an assistant coach, competitor, driver and parent,” said Poelman.

"They left Anchorage at 10 p.m. on Thursday night, drove all night, got a couple hours of sleep and all attended the clinic on Friday with Bruce,” said Poelman.

"The next day he just carried on, his kids were fighting and he was fighting. I thought that was great. It was a tough competition for him and it was a good attitude overall.”

Baird was the unanimous choice for the male sportsmanship award as voted on by the coaches.

"He showed perseverance and a good attitude,” said Poelman. "I thought it was very impressive.”

Other award winners included Emiko Teramura of Shiroumakai Judo Club for toughest female while Jay Watts of Capitol City Judo Club won on the male side.

Best throw in female competition was awarded to Kylie Lager also of the Capitol City club and Gavin Mellon of the Fireweed Judo Club was the men's winner.

Kaylee Johnson of Shiroumakai took home the sportsmanship award on the female side.

"We're very pleased with the results and we're already starting to plan for next year,” said Poelman, who is also hoping to be sending out local athletes to summer camps as well.

"If people want to check out what's going on with Judo Yukon they can always check out our website (judoyukon.ca) for the latest developments in news and upcoming events.”