Three 100 Mile House Judoka brought home bronze medals from this year’s B.C. Winter Games.
Held in Lhtako Quesnel from Feb. 22 to 25 the games attracted hundreds of youth athletes from across the province. Among them were 100 Mile’s own Diana Kozokova, Nabil Louraid and Myah Mason who all brought home bronze for the team event. The trio all agreed the experience was a ton of fun.
“It just feels good to do tournaments and when you win your matches you just have so much adrenaline, it’s really fun,” Diana said.
Kokoro Judo sensei Ian Briggs, president of Judo B.C., said he was proud of his athletes’ achievements in Quesnel. Briggs was in charge of organizing the overall judo competition and felt things went flawlessly, noting that more people competed in judo this year than he has ever seen before.
“In the team competition they were all key in helping their team win a medal,” Briggs said. “In the team competition, both Maya and Diana won their matches. Diana won hers in 20 seconds.”
Each team consisted of six boys and six girls, Briggs explained, with their results being based on their overall performance.
Myah, who’s been practicing judo on and off for eight years, enjoys meeting new friends and how welcoming the program is. She said she appreciates the practical self-defense skills the sport teaches and how it keeps her physically fit.
Nabil, meanwhile, got into judo just this year after attending a practice with his sister and falling in love with the sport. He said it’s similar to his other favoured sport, lacrosse.
“I like judo for the same reason I like lacrosse. You are part of a team as well as the fact you can bottle up your emotions and use them as fuel,” Nabil said.
Prior to the games, Diana said they all had to prepare by going to extra practices and tournaments to qualify. The chance to compete and meet a bunch of new people, however, made it all worth it.
Going to compete in the B.C. Winter Games was nerve-wracking at first, Myah said. During the first day of the individual competitions, she didn’t do well because she didn’t eat. The next day, after a good meal, she went on to win one of her matches in the team competition.
In his first match in Quesnel Nabil, an orange belt, faced off against a brown belt which he said completely terrified him. In judo’s ranking system brown is one step below a black belt and two belt levels above orange. Even though he ultimately lost that match he remarked it was a fun experience.
“I would recommend anyone who has the chance to go to the Winter Games to go. It’s super fun, you meet so many new people and you get an experience you can only get once or twice,” Nabil said, noting this was his only chance to compete.
While Nabil didn’t win any of his matches, he said he felt the games were a great learning experience. He intends to stick with judo for the long haul, noting his ultimate goal is to win gold one day at the Olympics, which would be a Canadian first.
Diana said that when she competed she was so focused on the game she didn’t even hear her teammates cheering her on. Looking back at the videos taken she remarked it was great to have their support. Winning bronze was also a great feeling, even if it wasn’t the gold she was hoping for.
At 12 Diana is the only one of the judoka who will be able to compete in the 2026 B.C. Winter Games, something she’s looking forward to doing.
“I think I’m going to improve my judo a lot and I won’t care if my team wins, I’ll just go to have fun,” Diana said. “Judo just gives me happiness and I really like doing it.”
Typically Briggs said that the Zone 8 team, which 100 Mile House is a part of, is used to winning at least one gold, silver and bronze medal and brings a lot of medals home. This year, however, the competition was much more intense with new coaches and athletes giving them a run for their money.
“Now it’s up to us to meet the challenge and get back to the top (next time),” Briggs remarked. “The Winter Games are an excellent venue for kids at this age (to compete). The big win is the social aspect of all this. They’re part of a team, they’re meeting kids from other teams, it’s just a good event.”
