As already announced, the two days (June 4th ~ 5th) the 1st GKJN Cup will take place. This event will be co-hosted with Tohkon Judo Academy and NPO in Chicago. This article explains where we are at with our preparation as well as showing gratitude to those that helped make this happen.
Only a few days left!!! Yes, of course the clinics and the tournaments are important, but checking status of Placards, Medals, Lunch, Raffle Prices, honored guests, etc, etc, I NEED MORE TIME!!! But also excitement is occupying me as well. LET’S GET THIS DONE!!
1. Dates
June 4th ~ 5th 2022 (2 day event)
2. Location
The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex
(aka:Rosemont Dome)
3. Hosted
By Tohkon Judo Academy(Doug Tono)
Global Kids Judo Network(Megumi Ishikawa)
4. Contents
June 4th : The 25th Tohkon Cup
(Judo Tournament for 300 Kids & Adults)
June 5th : The 1st GKJN Cup
(AM: Judo Clinic, PM: Kids Team Match 150)
＊Enttries as of May 30th is 6/4: 261, 6/5, 130
Including coaches, referees, staff and the parents, we’re looking at a 4~500 participants!!!
5. Guests
– Mr. Hiroshi Tajima : Counsel General of Japan at Chicago
– Mr. Shibata : Public Relations Consul
– Mr. Pierre Yamashina : Director of Grant Funds, JCCC
– Mr. Tetsuro Mitani : Vice President, JCCC
– Mr. Edward Liddie : High Performance Director, USA Judo
– Ms. Marti Malloy : Bronze Medalist, Women’s 57lg. London Olympics
6. Overall Floor Plan
4 rings prepared. Main Table for the Staff are preprared together with Scoreboards to show time and points. The looks are that of an international tournament!! I wish the best for all participants.
7. Sponsors as of May 30th
Corporate Sponsors
MUFG Bank, JCCC Grant, Nippon Express USA, Daruma Restaurant, ZENB US, Elematec, IACE Travel, Meiji Corporation, @properties, ACS Japan(Adidas Japan), Home Doctor, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways
Individual Sponsors
A total of 69 individuals are sponsoring this event. Although I will refrain from disclosing individual names, I am very grateful to all that helped make this event happen.
(8)Time Schedule
June 4th 25th Tohkon Cup
8:00-9:00. Open site, Referee Meetings, Participant Registration and Weighing
8:30-9:30. KATA Contest
9:30-10:00. Opening Ceremony(National Anthem. Introduction to Guests, Explanation of Rules)
10:00-12:00. Masters(Ages 30+)&Kids Group (Ages ~8)Tournament（11 Categories Total）
12:00-13:00. Lunch
13:00-15:00. Junior Class Tournament (Ages 8〜16) 44 Categories
15:00-17:00. Senior Class Tournament (Ages 16+) 17 Categories
17:00-17:30. Closing Ceremony (Expected Completion 17:30)
June 5th 1st GKJN Cup
8:00-9:00. Open site, Referee Meetings, Participant Registration and Weighing
9:00-9:30. Opening Ceremony(National Anthem. Introduction to Guests, Explanation of Rules)
9:30-12:00. Judo Clinic to 150 Kids
– Lead Instructor Marti Malloy
– Instructor: Megumi Ishikawa
– Support: Moe Kawasaki + other coaches
12:00-13:00. Lunch (300 lunch boxes provided by Daruma Restaurant + 500 Dry Fruit Snacks provided by ZENB US)
13:00-16:00. 1st GKJN Cup (Youth Judo Championship)
– Team Match between 5 teams each for Boys and Girls
– 40 referees gathered from all around USA
16:00-16:30. Medal Ceremony
16:30-17:00. Raffle Prize (Expected Completion 17:00)
(9)Others (Raffle Prizes provided by our sponsors)
①Raffle Prizes
＊In-flight goods (JAL), Inflight Goods (ANA) , Self Autographed Uniform of Yu Darvish and Photograph (provided by Yu himself) JudoGi with Adidas Logo (10 sets – ACS Japan), GKJN Tote Bag, also not shown in photograph, but a free domestic air ticket from IACE Travel (I wish I win this…)
②Food
Japanese Lunch Box 300 sets (Daruma Restaurant)and Dry Fruit Snack 500 packs (ZENB US)
The triple the kids love – Fried Chicken, Croquette, and Spaghetti
Healthy snack for kids and adults.
③English Speech (Opening Remarks)
This worries me the most. Currently in deep training….
Even if the words may not go through, I want to show my positive attitude as a minimum. Let’s see what happens 😊
This is the current status of our preparation. Maybe you have an image of where we are. It’s the first large event for GKJN., but I want to make it a great summer day where I want for our sponsors to feel comfortable that they supported the event, but most importantly I want to make sure that everyone goes home with a smile.
