THUNDER BAY — Emily Harris has been taken aback by how quickly things have been happening for her as of late.
After being in competitive judo for just two years, the brown belt judoka at Mountainside Judo Club is heading to Lima, Peru to represent Canada at the 2024 World Cadet Judo Championship, which runs from Aug. 27 to 31.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would get to any big tournament until I was in at least Grade 12,” said Harris, who is entering Grade 11 at Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute this fall.
“This is definitely a big surprise.”
Harris had previously mixed in judo with other sports, with her main focus being on gymnastics.
That approach changed a couple of years ago when she made judo her full-time athletic priority.
“I had just recently quit gymnastics because I just wasn’t liking the environment, and it wasn’t really great for my body,” Harris said.
“My brother (Alex) and my dad (Bill) were both doing judo, so I decided I might as well try that more and see if I liked it. I started getting more into it, doing more tournaments and training more.
“When my brother first introduced me to judo, it felt like a physical chess match, and I really enjoy that part of it. Your opponent is constantly moving, and everything is so fluid. I really like trying to be one step ahead of my partner.”
Coming into this year, Harris thought there might have been a chance that she could get the opportunity to compete at bigger events, but it wasn’t in her plans.
In fact, she didn’t even realize that May’s open nationals in Montreal — where she won gold in the under-18 and bronze in the under-21 events — was a qualifier for the Worlds until she was told by a coach from Ottawa.
“I was pretty surprised and excited to hear that,” Harris said.
“It’s a very cool opportunity, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Harris is used to competing on big stages before.
In addition to winning at the nationals this spring, she captured a gold medal in the female 80-kg division at the 2024 Ontario Winter Games, which were held in Thunder Bay.
“There’s going to be a lot more competitors there, but I can still draw on those previous experiences, especially when it comes to warming up and just getting into that mindset of being ready for a match,” Harris said.
Harris, who will be taking part in the women’s 70-kg and over event at the Worlds – will have a pretty busy schedule before she even gets to Peru.
She’s in Spain this week for an international training camp with the Ontario judo team.
Once that camp concludes, Harris heads to Montreal to join the national team for a week-long camp before heading to Lima for the World Championships.
“This is going to be a huge learning experience for me,” Harris said.
“I tend to fight a lot of the same people at the events I’ve gone to in the past, but now I’m going to be competing against other girls, who are probably better than I am, so I can learn a lot of stuff from them.”
Although she doesn’t know who she will be facing yet, Harris has put a lot of work into her cardio and overall technique to be in the best shape possible for the event.
“I don’t really have any goals in mind, but I’m definitely going to fight as hard as I can and try to leave everything I have out on the mat,” Harris said.
Once her hectic August comes to an end, Harris will be back training for upcoming events such as the Ontario Open and the Winnipeg Open.
“Right now, I’m just seeing what happens when it comes to judo, but I’m going to see just how far it takes me,” Harris said.
“If it takes me far. . . I’ll run with it.”
