Catrin Davies and Gareth Davies.

Two young judo fighters from Carmarthen Judo Club attended the Welsh Judo Open Championships held on the 17th and 18th of this month, at the Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff. These Championships are the highlight of the Judo calender in Wales, they are open to everyone in the world to attend and fight. There were national champions, internationals and many other medallists in attendance and fighting over the two days.

Catrin Davies, a regular in the Welsh Squad, was fighting and the only girl representing Carmarthen on the Saturday. She had a tough group which meant she had to win each fight to get into the final, unfortunately she didn't manage that but showed determination in getting through to the final rounds of the competition. She showed the skill which she has developed over the years in Carmarthen to win through to a bronze medal position. This was a very good result for Catrin who was supported by her coaches Louise Beard and Emyr ap Sion.

Gareth Davies fought on the Sunday showing all the skill and ability he possessed, unfortunately he was put into a heavier weight group as he was 0.5 kg over his weight limit. Nevertheless he put up a great performance and narrowly missed out on the medal positions finishing 5th.

Louise Beard said,"These young fighters are beginning to show the skill needed to bring back to Carmarthen some individual Championship medals. This was a tough test of their ability and they showed they were able to compete with the best in Britain."

The judo club is open to anyone from the age of 5 years to 70 years depending on health and training takes place at Old Llangunnor Road, Carmarthen with training fees costing from 50p to £1.