“We are expecting good people. Jérôme Guenzi, the coach of JC Thionville, is already salivating. By granting the Excellence label to the Thionville cadets tournament last year, the French Federation guaranteed the Moselle club a quality plateau, this Saturday at the La Milliaire multisport complex. From now on, only Toulouse offers an appointment of equal standing at the same time. “A hundred fighters out of the 638 registered are among the fifty best in the world in their category”, welcomes the technician from Lorraine. “We are expecting seven hopeful centers and a dozen foreign delegations from Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Mongolia, Scotland…”
If the club from the north of the Moselle lost the Excellence label for the meeting with seniors in favor of Épinal, where the event took place in December, it compensated for it by organizing a label tournament for the minors. A, “the highest possible in this age category”, recalls Jérôme Guenzi. Registration also went well, with nearly 400 athletes expected on the mats this Sunday. “It’s the last major competition before the French championships, so many come to test themselves in Thionville,” explains the house coach.
Fierce competition
Forty-five clubs from the Grand Est will be represented over the two days of competition. At home, JC Thionville relies mainly on its minimal to pull out of the game, knowing that the competition will be fierce among the cadets. “If Rémi Provenzano finishes in the Top 10 in -66 kg, a very extensive category, with 79 judokas, it will already be very good”, launches Jérôme Guenzi.
Saturday (from 8.45 a.m.) and Sunday (from 8.45 a.m.) at the La Milliaire multisport complex
