Abigail Smith displays her gold medal at a PanAmerican judo meet in Montreal in November. (Abigail Smith photo)

Abigail Smith has already made a mark on the Canadian and world judo stage, and she’s not done yet.

The Grade 11 student at Liverpool Regional High School will be competing against judokas from other countries yet again as she prepares for a tour of Europe with Team Canada in March. 

Smith will be travelling to Spain, Portugal and Croatia for European Cup tournaments and training camps as part of the European Judo Tour.

“I travelled with Team Canada one time last year which was for an event in Germany, and I was so excited for it,” Smith told QCCR.

“And now I got selected to be on a tour which is an even bigger deal. I didn’t think that would happen for me this year at all. My main focus was nationals, but now I’m spending a month in Europe. It’s crazy to me, I didn’t think it was going to happen to me this year. It’s really exciting.”

She said she’s looking forward to the more intense competition of the European tournaments.

“The training for me is the most important thing. Getting to train with different bodies. In Canada, you know everyone you’re training with and you’re getting familiar with different fighting styles. So getting to go outside of Canada, and fighting round after round with people from all different countries, you’re getting so much experience from it, it’s going to make my judo way better. Tournaments in Europe are a lot different than tournaments in Canada, there’s a lot more aggression, there’s a lot more people who want to win. So I’m getting so much experience.”

Two of the tournaments are in the older U21 or junior age division, while the third is in her usual U18 or cadet class. But Smith is no stranger to punching above her age.

In November, she won a bronze medal in the older division at the Quebec Open and followed that up with another bronze in the same age class at the Pan American Canada Cup. And she snagged two gold medals at the same meets in her usual division.

The 17-year-old Brooklyn resident, who began judo lessons when she was four years old, is ranked in the Top 10 in her age division in Canada. 

Smith says juggling the travel, training and tournaments with school and a social life are worth it. They’re all part of building toward her ultimate goal, which is to compete at the World Judo Championships and at the Olympics.

“Because judo is my life. The thing I love the most is judo and everything that comes along with it.

“So for me, doing all those things, like sacrificing time with friends, I want to go to the Olympics, I want to be world champion, and I know the goals that I want and that I’ve dedicated so much time to, they’re not going to come true unless I keep with it. So I keep with it. Everyone in my life is so supportive. They know I need to train.

“My family, my friends, my community, everyone is so on board with what I do, it makes it 10 times easier.”

Smith trains with Nova United Martial Arts in Halifax four days a week. She says she takes notes at every competition and training camp she attends. And she works with her coach Jason Scott on how to improve.

For the next couple of months, she’ll be focused on getting ready for the European tour in March and a February meet in Denmark, where she also competed last year.

“I want to win of course because it’s my first European tour. My biggest goal is to go out there and fight, do my best. Show the European tour me, show them me. I want to learn so much. You’ll never learn everything about judo. So each time I go away, I’m learning so much.”

After she returns from Europe, she’ll be getting ready for the national judo championships in Calgary in May. If she wins there, she’ll be on Team Canada for the world championships in Bulgaria in August.

But she doesn’t want to think too far ahead. She’s just hoping to do her best wherever she goes.

“I hope everything goes well so I can bring back good results for everyone supporting me.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Abigail Smith with her coach Jason Scott at the Elite National Championships in Edmonton on Jan. 13 and 14. (Abigail Smith photo)

Another Queens County athlete is getting ready to represent Canada on the world stage.

Last Friday, Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn won her first international gold medal in the shot put when she beat the rest of the field at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Now, 16-year-old judo athlete Abigail Smith of Brooklyn is training hard for the International Thuringia Cup in Germany on March 23. 

Smith trains four days a week after school at Nova United Martial Arts, her judo club in Halifax. And she’s getting ready for a sold-out fundraiser this Saturday at Route 3 Cellar Bar and Grill. It’s an ‘80s-themed bowling tournament at 3 p.m.

Smith has had a busy year already nationally and internationally.

She finished third at the Danish Open in early February. She captured two bronze medals in her class at a national judo meet in Edmonton in January. And in November, she captured silver and bronze at the Pan American Cup in Montreal, her first international competition. 

She is ranked in the Judo Canada Top 10 in the U-18 division. Sport Nova Scotia has chosen her to be one of 12 Nova Scotia True Sport Athlete Ambassadors for 2024. 

And she is one of only two members of her club representing Canada at separate events in Germany.

Smith told QCCR in January that she’s lucky to have such great family, community and team support.

“People think judo is an individual sport and it is an individual sport, but it’s a huge team sport because you can’t get anywhere without your team, your training partners,” she says. “And having a good team you can rely on in sport and outside of sport is really important and that’s what’s helped me get so far in judo.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen below to the QCCR news update for Tuesday