Amber Wins Bronze
Amber Sexton adds to her medal haul by bringing home a bronze medal from the British Schools Judo Championships. Since 2011, Amber has competed at the British Schools Judo Championships, hosted by the Judo Association at iceSheffield. This year, over 400 different schools participated, with 525 players taking part. The event is a pre-runner to the National Championships and the British squad selection so competition was fierce.
Amber had to earn her place and qualify for the competition in January, which she did by coming first and being awarded a gold medal. It was therefore not surprising that even with over 500 competitors, Amber walked away with a bronze medal in the Year 10-11 age band, winning two of her four fights.
This isn’t the first time that Amber has had success at British Schools. In March 2013, she won a silver medal in her age and weight division.
Amber started doing Judo when she was three years old, coached by her father and mother. She has continued her dedication to the sport, training at least three hours a week to make sure that her skills improve.
She explains, “I train on Mondays and Thursdays for about one hour and fifteen minutes, and then I help with Judo classes on Wednesday. You have to keep training so that you keep learning and do your best in competitions.”
Amber continues to add to her repertoire of techniques but isn’t disheartened when they don’t work. She is keen to try new and more complex moves in matches.
With so many years of Judo competitions and taking part in British Schools behind her, Amber still finds it all a bit daunting. “The atmosphere is very charged. I get nervous but once it’s my time to compete, the adrenaline kicks in and I’m okay.”
Amber’s father has continued to be her coach and she finds his input invaluable during matches. “I take his comments on board and then I go out and try to do better. If a move I’ve been working on doesn’t come out as it should, that’s fine, because I’ll keep doing it so that it does the next time.”
With a strong performance at British Schools, Amber is looking forward to the National Championships, but the ultimate aim is to be picked for the British Squad.
16 March 2015
