Judo: Trip to Durban turns up trumps for young stars

A trip to South Africa proved fruitful for five athletes from North Shore's Nippon Judo club.

The group won five medals in the South African open championships held in Durban last week, an event that attracted 1500 entries.

South African-born Moira de Villiers, 15, was the top performer, winning gold medals in the under-16 division and the under-20 kurash competition. She also won a bronze in the under-20 judo division.

Justine Bishop, 14, picked up a silver medal in the kurash competition and a bronze in the under-20 division. Vinay Reddy, 12, won a silver medal in the under-14 division.

Ullrich Boshoff, 9, and Justin Mitchell, 17, also competed but narrowly missed out on medals.

Club coach Johan Boshoff said the aim of the trip was to help the athletes gain experience.

"It is a good step up for these people," he said.

"There is a lack of depth here. At the New Zealand nationals they get maybe one hard match ... in South Africa all the matches are tough and you can have six or seven hard matches in your weight category."

Next on the agenda for the group is the Victoria Championships in Australia next month, then the North Island Championships followed by a trip to Korea in September.