More than 20 new judokas stepped onto the competition mat for the first time last weekend at a Shiai judo tournament hosted by the Golden Horn Judo Club at Golden Horn Elementary School.

“I was happy; very pleased,” said Dan Poelman of the Northern Lights Judo Club, which many of the newcomers belong to. “They start from the ground up.

There’s not throws yet. They don’t have the confidence to do the break falls.”

The Golden Horn tournament is unique to the other club tournaments in that beginners – commonly the white belts – start with ground work. They fight from their knees, instead of standing.

This is for safety reasons, said competitive head coach Bianca Ockedahl, who recently started a new judo club in Carmacks.

“It’s safer usually for injuries and it’s a good way to introduce them without them getting scared off right away,” she said. “It’s a scary thing when you get thrown, so some people aren’t ready for that just yet.”

The next tournament will be held on Nov. 26 at École Emilie Tremblay, where the transition to standing competition will begin.

That tournament will also be the first time the new regulation-size judo mats purchased with money from Lotteries Yukon will see competition.

In addition to the four usual clubs, five competitors from Ockedahl’s new Carmacks club also participated at the tournament. Among them was Jordyn Asp, who, in his first judo competition, went up against high performance competitive athletes Brandon Butler and Shayne Melanson in demonstration fights.

“It was a good intro for him,” said Ockedahl. The young men are all the same age, even though Asp is a less experienced judoka.

“I was just happy that some of them came out,”said Ockedahl, noting the poor road conditions that were the result of overnight snowfall. “From the feedback I got they all enjoyed it so I think they’ll be ready for some more.”