Game On
'The Gentle Sport'
By David Witte / Independent Staff Writer Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
West Clovis Judo Club's Spencer Matthes, 8, made quick work of his two opponents to capture the 31-kilogram division at the U.S. Judo Federation Junior Nationals July 14 and 15 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Matthes, a Garfield Elementary student who has taken judo for two-and-a-half years, won both matches by ippon, a 25-second pin or a forceful throw on the back.
The 8-year-old received a judo gi (a uniform) and several patches for his victory.
"It's been a pretty good year for him," said Jeff Takeda, West Clovis Judo club instructor.
SPLAT!
By David Witte / Independent Staff Writer Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Bored?
Too much free time? Friends getting on your nerves?
In the sport of paintball, you can give them a nice welt for revenge.
With the growing popularity of paintball, youths can be seen trying to mark each other at two paintball facilities in the area: Blackbeard's in Fresno and Agape Playing Fields in Mendota. Another is under construction at the Regional Sports Complex south of Fresno.
Go Climb a Rock
By David Witte / Independent Staff Writer Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Dorie Lim likes to spend much of her summer hanging around.
Not in a watching-"Gilligan's Island"-reruns-with-empty-pizza-boxes-at-your-side kind of way. More in a hold-on-to-this-rock-while-you-look-for-a-way-up-this-80-foot-cliff kind of way.
Lim is a member of the Yosemite Fitness health club on Willow and Nees avenues, which boasts a 35-foot rock-climbing wall as its centerpiece. "It's always new," said Lim, a registered dietitian. "It's challenging and it's an interesting form of exercise."
This unique workout is one that about 100 people enjoy each day at the club.
RIGHT ON TARGET
By David Witte / Independent Staff Writer Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Cole Rommel has a gun in his hand all year long. If he's not hunting deer or duck, he's out winning national awards for sporting clays.
The 17-year-old Buchanan senior, along with teammates Talia Borg of Salinas and Brian Foley of Bakersfield, won the Scholastic Clay Target Program's skeet-shooting championships July 14 and 15 in San Antonio.
Under the team name Ink Ballers, the three shooters hit 589 out of 600 targets to win the tournament's varsity division for the second year in a row. Runner-up Brooks Elite Varsity, from Rochester, N.Y., placed second with a mark of 586.
The Ink Ballers were the second team to win back-to-back titles in the history of the SCTP.
One Wild Ride
By David Witte / Independent Staff Writer Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Summer's back, and once again it's hot enough to feel the heat of the pavement through one's shoes.
This is the time of year when Clovis teens and pre-teens get their feet off the ground, and on a skateboard instead. Many converge on Rotary Skatepark, a 27,000-square-foot skating facility at Letterman Park, on Villa Avenue between Bullard and Barstow avenues.
"It includes a street area, a pool with pool tile and pool coping [the edge around the rim of the pool] and what we call the 'Flow Bowl,' " said Tim Kearn, a recreation specialist with the city of Clovis. "The deepest part of the park is 10 feet."
Alta Sierra Intermediate student Tyler Poole, 13, spends several hours each day at the skate park, which opened in 2005.
