Jeff Allen continued his meteoric rise through the sport of judo with another dominating performance last month, bringing home gold and bronze medals in the Veteran and Masters categories from the New York International Judo Cup. It’s another step in the road for Allen, who in just a handful of years has gone from an unknown commodity to one of the best judoka in the country, a journey that he acknowledges would have been unimaginable without the immense amount of support he has received from family, friends, and local sponsors along the way.
“It wouldn’t be possible to compete without them,” says Allen of the team that has rallied behind him in support of his dream. “My sponsors give me the financial assistance to take the time to do the training and compete in the tournaments. My wife and my son have been working overtime, keeping things organized, helping me with fundraising and doing most of the work behind the scenes. You’re not going to be able to compete at this level if you don’t have that help.”
Jeff credits his wife Crystal and son Lucas, along with his three main community partners – Ward Edmonds GM, Hidden Valley Resort, and Wilshire Works – for forming the supportive nucleus of Team Allen. He has also received help and encouragement from a number of Huntsville businesses, and would specifically like to thank Pickett Contracting, Moose Delaney’s, RE/MAX Huntsville, Hilltop Signs, Muskoka Auto Parts, Hypervision Signs, Rolston’s Home Hardware, Tall Trees Restaurant, Oxtongue Lake Contracting, Festing Toyota, Sun of Muskoka, 105.5 Moose FM, the Sutton Group, Courtesy Auto Sales, the Huntsville Judo Club, and the Sho Jin Judo Club for all of their assistance.
Jeff sports gold and bronze medals after competing in the New York International Judo Cup in July
This support has allowed Jeff to ramp up his training in recent months and add five more events to his schedule before heading to Fort Lauderdale for the World Championships in November. Having progressed from mainly regional and provincial tournaments to national and international competitions also has the Huntsville fighter better prepared to finish on the podium this time around, after making the top 10 at last year’s World Championships in Amsterdam.
“You get better competition, a mix of new people all the time, it’s nice to have different people to fight with,” says Allen of the international nature of his recent tournaments. “It’s hard to use all your skills when you’re constantly fighting the same guys, and my goal is to work on being a little more well rounded.”
In addition to his arduous training and competition schedule, Jeff also takes time out to spread awareness in the local community about the physical and mental benefits of practicing martial arts. Along with his son Lucas and the help of the Huntsville Judo Club, Jeff has been involved in multiple demonstrations this summer, including setting up a booth at the Huntsville and Bracebridge Midnight Madness events to encourage people of all ages to get involved in a healthy, active lifestyle.
“It gets people in the community aware about what judo is,” says Allen of the demonstrations. “People are able to see what we do and what it’s all about which is great, because most people don’t really know much about it at all.”
The Huntsville dad will now set his sights on a strong finish to the summer in the hopes of bringing home more hardware this fall on judo’s biggest stage.
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