Opening Speech from WSJI President Calvin Terada

Washington State Championships – January 19, 2008

To all of the Senseis, Coaches, Referees, Athletes, and especially Parents, Good morning and Happy New Year! On behalf of Washington State Judo and the Tournament Committee welcome to the 2008 Washington State Judo Championships!

2008 will be an exciting year for judo given that it is an Olympic year. This summer, in Bejing, China, the best men and women judo players from the United States will be competing for gold.

We are fortunate to have three athletes from Washington State that will be working to make the US Olympic Team this year. It will be an exciting thing to watch.

For those that do not know me, my name is Calvin Terada and I am the newly elected President for Washington State Judo. It is truly an honor and a pleasure to be chosen for this position and I will do the best that I can to make judo in Washington State the best that it can be.

I have give main goals for the next two years and I will need everyone’s help to make it a reality. First, I want to help our elite athletes from our State with funding assistance, if possible. Second, I want to work together as partners with NW Yudanshakai to support and capitalize on efforts already underway, such as programs for junior and senior development. Third, I want to do what we can to invest in referee development. Fourth, I want to improve in-State communications so that everyone in the State knows what we, as an organization, is doing. This means keeping the WSJI website active and alive! Fifth, I want to improve external communications and increase awareness of judo to the non-judo public, for example, I would like to have some media coverage for our potential Olympians.

Finally, I want to thank Dick Tashiro for his many years of service to Washington State, Judo as the past President, as well as, a dedicated member.

Dick will be moving in the near future down to his some down of San Jose, California , and so I want to take this time to thank him for his service by providing him with a gift from Washington State Judo. A plaque commemorating this occasion will also be given to him at a later date.

With this, I want to thank you again for supporting Washington State Judo and I wish all of the athlete’s good luck!

I look forward to meeting the next State Champions for 2008! Thank you.

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