The Tribune

THE brother and sister tandem of D’Arcy and Cynthia Rahming qualified for the Central American and Caribbean Games at the CAC trials in Barbados over the weekend.

Sixteen countries took part in the event and the top nine qualified for each division. Both athletes managed a seventh place finish. The tournament featured an aggressive field of world champions and Olympic medallists.

The CAC Games are scheduled for November in Veracruz, Mexico.

D’Arcy Jr, competing in the 66 kilogram class, received a bye in the first round, then won against Guyana before losing to the bronze medallist from the Dominican Republic.

“I am pleased with my technical judo improvement but strength is an issue,” said the 23-year-old D’Arcy Jr. “I believe that I would have medalled but I lost to a counter due to me not being able to power my opponent over.”

Judo is a sport that requires the skills of a wrestler combined with the power of a weightlifter and the agility of a gymnast.

Cynthia Rahming, competing in the 57KG class, also lost to a bronze medallist from the Dominican Republic. Last week she took silver at the San Antonio Open but she found the level here much higher.

“This is a field of champions. I know what I need to work on to improve my level of play,” said the 19-year-old. “My ground game was not aggressive enough and even though I was ahead on points and the aggressor in my quarterfinal match, I got trapped on the ground.”

The trip was sponsored by Bahama Elite Water and the Bahamas Olympic Committee, which ensured that the athletes could make it to the competition and training camps.

The next big matches for the duo will be at the Pan American Championships in Ecuador. This will be a warm-up to the Bahamas Open on May 10, which will feature members of the Cuban judo team and various federations from other countries.

Persons wishing to contact the Bahamas Judo Federation can do so at

http://BahamasJudo.com