The Bracebridge-based club is only five years old but has a strong group of up-and-comers who performed well under pressure to capture five firsts, a second, a third, two fourths and a fifth.

Jiu-jitsu is similar to grappling and wrestling. In this junior tournament striking was not permitted and points were awarded for takedowns, pinning and getting past blocks. Submissions executed were an automatic win. The matches were a maximum of four minutes long.

“They all fought really well, showed good sportsmanship,” said club instructor Bill Quinn. “It was a pretty big tournament for their first time.”

He added the entire team from the beginners to the more advanced fighters did well.

The team won five out of the eight divisions it entered at the competition.

There were 10 members of the club who competed in the tournament that boasted the participation of 14 clubs in 18 divisions across the province.

Top prizes went to Alanna Crawford, 11, Liam Crawford, 8, Aleasha Deweerdt, 9, Caleb Norris, 11, and Kyle Nelson, 16. Matthew Harris, 8, earned a second place, Andrew Bongers, 7, a third place, Victoria Verbeek, 12, a fourth, Taylor Harris, 10, a fourth and Evan Bongers, 10, a fifth.

Quinn attributes the club’s success to the preparation by the team who trained for six weeks. More importantly, Quinn said, the older members fulfilled the club’s mandate by offering advice and help to the younger members.

“The whole point of the club is that we encourage them to help out the lower belts. It’s (the) part of the senior belted members to encourage the younger belted members, just like we’ve done for them,” he said. “You don’t really have to ask. It’s accepted that it is part of the job to help out. Everyone benefits.”

First-year student Deweerdt was surprised with her top placing at the tournament.

“It was very exciting. I wasn’t expecting to win,” she said.

The white belt student started studying only a few months ago in mid-January when she came to watch her friends, including Alanna Crawford.

Crawford of Bracebridge, who isn’t new to winning, appreciates being the inspiration for others and believes the sport needs greater recognition.

“It feels good to know that you are passing on the sport,” she said.

The green belt student has been studying for four years. She marks winning at the Canadian Championship two years ago as an orange belt student as her highest achievement. She hopes to get a black belt and become an instructor.

The club competes in several tournaments a year and Quinn believes the competition experience not only advances the students’ techniques, but brings complexity to attacks and defences.