An effort to raise awareness about the growth of the sport of judo in The Bahamas has paid off greatly for the Bahamas Judo Federation (BJF).

Yesterday, the federation was awarded 50 training uniforms by the Japanese Judo Federation that will be used by the national team. Earlier this month, Bahamas Judo Head Coach D'Arcy Rahming Jr. and top athlete Cynthia Rahming trained at the headquarters of the judo martial art, the Kodokan, in Japan. They presented the directors of the Kodokan with a "History of Bahamas Judo" book that they authored and formed a relationship with them. That experience is what led the Japanese federation to make such a generous decision.

"We are delighted to form such an important relationship as it presents opportunities for many Bahamians to train in Japan." said Rahming. "We intend to have our CARIFTA and Commonwealth Youth Games team experience training in Japan within the coming year."

Honorary Consul General to Japan Robert "Sandy" Sands presented the team with the uniforms.

"This donation goes a long way to developing judo in The Bahamas and the youth in particular." said Sands. "We congratulate you on the work that you're doing, and Japan will continue to support the development of Judo in this country."

According to Rahming Jr., the new uniforms will also allow the BJF to expand into Freeport in the fall.

Last weekend the BJF was able to capture three medals at the U.S. Judo Junior Open. The Bahamian team was made up of martial artists from various clubs in New Providence and Abaco. Asia Bullard, Deleon Sweeting and Rachel Rolle all captured bronze medals in their respective divisions.

With the Commonwealth Youth Games being held in New Providence next year, one of the goals of the BJF this year has been to get its martial artists in as much events as possible.

"We had excellent performances from the team, with several losing in medal rounds," said Rahming Jr. "We defeated a lot of capable opponents that had significantly more experience than us. We are on track for an excellent performance next year."

All matches and team activities were filmed by the BJF and will be released in the coming weeks by the federation. They plan to produce a series of webisodes as well as a congratulatory booklet to help educate the public on judo.

Judo is one of six sporting disciplines that will be contested at the Commonwealth Youth Games. The event is set to feature more than 1,000 young athletes ages 14 to 18, representing 71 countries.

Randy Smith, Guardian Sports Reporter

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian