Local youngsters get to grips with judo

Aspiring judoka were given the opportunity to hone their skills with the best, following the launch of a new Judo Festival supported by Hackney Council, Arsenal in the Community and the Premier League 4 Sport initiative.

On Saturday 4th December, Arsenal in the Community and the Capital London Judo Club, based at the Cardinal Pole Catholic School in Hackney, held the first Premier League 4 Sport Judo Festival, which saw 24 judoka (young judo participants) between the ages of 5 and 14 come together in a fun day of competition and coaching.

The youngsters were joined by Great Britain and London Area senior squad members, Lee Shinkin and Tom Davis, who passed on expert tips during a demonstration of judo techniques such as throws, holds, strangles and armlocks. The teams also took part in an athletics course, team tug-of-war, Judo quiz and balloon blowing contests, before commencing their individual fights.

Working with sport’s governing bodies, the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England, the Premier League 4 Sport programme aims to engage 25,000 young people, aged between 11 and 16, to join local sports clubs and participate in four sports (badminton, volleyball, table tennis and judo) over a three-year period leading up to 2012.

Gabor Szanyi Nagy, coach said of the event, "I think everyone involved enjoyed the day, including the parents and based on the feedback everyone is looking forward to the next tournament.  I would like to mention all the help and co-ordination from Helen Davies and Craig Ringer who ensured the event was a successful and a big thank you to Shaun Purcell, who allowed us to use the school and everyone else who helped and contributed to the event."

Ross McKinley, Arsenal’s Premier League 4 Sport Co-ordinator said after the event “We are really happy that after so much hard work from where we started the project a year ago, we can finally launch the new Capital London Judo Club with such a great day. There was a really fun atmosphere throughout the day supported brilliantly by the young people’s families. Arsenal in the Community would like to thank all the participants for their hard work and the BJA and our special guests for the day for their amazing help but also Hackney Council for their efforts and support in funding the costs of running Capital London JC in its first year, without them, this would not have been possible.”

After setting up satellite clubs in local schools, the Capital London Judo Club was finally launched in September 2010, providing a unique facility for young people to participate in the sport. It is hoped that Saturday’s event will inspire more young people to take up Judo locally.

[Tuesday, December 07, 2010]

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