Mario Desforge, a French Canadian Judoka, played a significant role in establishing and developing                                                                                       

judo throughout Canada’s north. Upon moving to Nunavut with his family in 2000, he founded Judo Nunavut  in 2001 after living in the community for a year. Judo was a means of encouraging  community and a way to combat the social challenges amongst youth in the area. Judo Nunavut is currently run by Tommy Claude Grenier, as Desforge eventually relocated to Yellowknife where judowas previously run by Senseis Tony Simmons and Gunther Iobe. 

 

                                                                                            Mario Desforges founded the NWT Judo Association in 2008, of which he was Head Coach and                                                                                                President of the association. Desforge devoted the next 12 years, before eventually retiring in 2020, by promoting and teaching judo in schools, recreational programs, and camps throughout the Northwest Territories. He also developed a number of high performance athletes and established the privately run Kam Lake Dojo in Yellowknife. Notable NWT athletes include Gabriel Desforge, judoka from Yellowknife who moved to Montreal in 2010, obtained 5th place at the Canadian Championships in 2012 and became a part of the national team; Mason Bruneau, judoka from Hay River who received a bronze medal at the 2015 Canadian Championships in Richelieu; Brent Batsina, judoka from N’dilo who received a silver medal at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in the -100kg category; and Wilson Elliot, judoka from Yellowknife who received bronze at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, and represented Canada at the Pan American Junior Championships held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

 

Upon Desforges retirement, Chantal Steitzer became president of the NWT Judo Association. Josh Hagen stepped in as the Head Coach and Executive Director until August 2023. The association worked tirelessly to continue developing judo under the strict restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic. Senseis Tony Corbin in Fort Liard, and Tetsuya Numata in Fort Simpson provided judo in the Dehcho region as a part of our successful in school program in partnership with the DDEC. As the Association continues to expand, we have welcomed new staff. Our new Executive Director, Dion Simmonds arrived in September 2023 and is currently based out of Fort Providence to support our in school program in the community. Sensei Christian Moussima arrived in January 2024 and will be based out of Fort Liard to oversee our school program as well. 

 

Sensei Ed Hartley established the Kuzuri Judo Club in Inuvik in 2017 and continues to have a strong number of participants every year. This program is offered for free in the community to allow anyone to participate! 

 

The NWT Judo Association have big plans to continue expanding judo throughout the Northwest Territories through the in school judo programs, city programs, youth programs, camps, and innovative seminars such as the Fall For All program. Every year we host three Territorial events, the Arctic Open tournament in Inuvik, the Dehcho Judo Gathering in Fort Simpson, and the North of 60 Open in Yellowknife.

 

To further promote judo, NWT Judo Association produced a podcast called

A Fighting Chance with Josh Hagen in collaboration with Sport North and Table Tennis North.