FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email: info@atlanticopen.org
October 2, 2016
JUDO PEI SCORES PERMAMENT LOCK ON REGIONAL JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Summerside and Credit Union Place will Once Again Play Host to Regional Judo Event

The 2017 Atlantic Open will be held at Credit Union Place from March 17th to 19th. The announcement was made Sunday morning by Judo PEI Treasurer and Tournament Chairperson Brian Nash, during a local sports talk show broadcast from Credit Union Place in Summerside.

New Name
The Atlantic Canadian Judo Championships has a new name – The Atlantic Open Judo Championships. The name change is meant to reflect the nature of the event as it has moved from being an event for just Atlantic Canadian Judokas

Great Event Only Getting Better
In 2016 the Atlantics were held in Summerside PEI for the first time. Competitors came from beyond the 4 Atlantic Provinces, including competitors who came from Brazil. This year we are hoping to continue the trend as we are officially opening up the Atlantic Open to a wider audience.
At a meeting of Atlantic Canadian representatives at this year’s Judo Canada AGM on September 24th it was decided each of the 3 Maritime Provinces would have their provincials and one “anchor” event each year that would be free from scheduling conflicts of the other provinces and that we be mutually promoted. At time it was decided that PEI would be the new permanent host of the Atlantics.  New Brunswick Hosts the Fall Classic Every Year in October and Nova Scotia Hosts the N.U.M.A. Cup each spring.

What it Means to the City
According to a report prepared by the City of Summerside’s Sports Events Tourism the 2016 Atlantic Championships generated over ½ million dollars in economic activity for the island with almost $400,00 in the City of Summerside alone. With expected increase in participants it can only mean greater benefits for the City and its businesses in 2017.
Nash stated that the relationship Judo PEI has built with the city of Summerside and its residents over the past year is one of the reasons they pursued trying to make this a permanent event, “Last years theme was “Become Part of Something Big” which is still an underlying message as we grow this into the Biggest Judo Event in the Maritimes, but this years theme will be “PEI Loves Judo and Judo Loves PEI” as we once again invite residents to get involved and come watch this great event”

Opportunity for Local Residents and Businesses to Become Involved
Putting on an event of this size is always a challenge both logistically and financially and Judo PEI is looking for help once again, Nash said, “last year we had a great response from some area businesses when we were looking for support, this year we are hoping to retain those sponsors and grow it so it will be completely self-sustaining. And we had some wonderful volunteers come out who knew nothing of Judo before and they have come to appreciate this new to them sport that has a history of Big Results on the Island, we’ll be reaching out once again in the coming months to build on what we had last year.

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To learn more visit www.atlanticopen.org