Diontae Vangeli, 8, shows his mum Gina who is boss with this judo move as their St Albans teammates watch on. 88728_02 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By ADEM SARICAOGLU
TO suggest the Vangeli family enjoys their judo is an under-statement.
The Vangelis made up half of the eight-strong contingent from the St Albans Judo Club that recently travelled to Perth as part of the Victorian team to compete in the Kodokan National Judo Championships.
Gina Vangeli and three of her children, Diontae, Tynneka and Joseph all travelled across the Nullarbor, and combined with their St Albans team mates, came back with a fair bit of success.
In total, the club yielded three gold medals, one sliver and five bronze, along with numerous other top five finishes.
Vangeli, who received her black belt in the sport last year, says she expects such success will have a positive impact on the St Albans club.
“Generally it always brings in new blood,” Vangeli said. “It just shows that you don’t have to belong to a real fancy club to get the results, and there are some clubs out there that charge much more than we do.
“So it doesn’t matter where you come from, just as long as you’ve got determination and a good teacher.”
The Vangelis alone came back with seven of the nine medals won by St Albans’ representatives.
“I began competing with the children to show them that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, as long as you try,” Vangeli said.
“Originally there was never any focus on taking the sport seriously. Unlike myself, they have natural ability.”
And with Vangeli’s other son Pietro recently taking up taekwondo, she quips that with all the martial arts talent in her household, it would be considered unwise to cause trouble with anyone in the family.
“We joke around and like to say that we’re a family not be messed with, but it’s good,” she said.
“It’s given them confidence and it keeps them active as well.”
