On the positive side we are starting to see the benefits of all the work that was done behind the scenes during lockdown. The club members now have a brand new minibus, high quality training apparel and for those who took part in almost 200 lockdown outdoor and indoor zoom sessions have gained fantastic fitness levels. In May the club were able to send a team of 12 members who ranged from age 13 to 23 to Portugal and Spain to train at their national training centres. The 12 members who travelled are the clubs most competitive judoka who are participating at high levels in the UK, Europe and around the world. The training at the national centres were part of Portugal and Spain’s preparations for the recent world Judo championships in Hungary and the forthcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. The opportunity for the club to go was a chance not to miss as high level training is not readily available in the UK especially to over 18s. All 12 members followed the strictest protocols in line with government guidance and whilst abroad were tested for Covid every other day to ensure that all athletes were kept safe. The club have created many new friends and fantastic contacts which has opened up many training and competition opportunities abroad once normality starts to return.
There are still exciting initiatives for the club to roll out but they will not be realised until the lifting of restrictions in July so watch this space for further details. We are always open to new members from age 5 upwards so if you are interested please contact us via the contact form.

A successful weekend in Ireland with 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 bronze medals, plus 2 5th and 1 7th place finishes from 8 players.

Saturday was for the Juniors and Seniors. Terri (U52kg) and Elle (U63kg), Terri was unlucky to lose her first fight after throwing for wazari and rolling into a hold down. She won her next fight, but was unfortunate to lose her 3rd, placing her at 7th.  Elle lost her first fight and won her following 3, the first fight being the decider in the pool, meaning she took silver despite having the same wins and points.  

Elle then joined Steph (U57kg) in the Seniors competition.  Elle won her pool, and made the semi final, where she had to tap out due to an injury she had picked up earlier in the day, so she took home the bronze.  Steph won all 4 of her fights, her first lasting just 16 seconds, and took a well deserved gold.

Sunday saw 6 cadets take to the mat, including Terri who fought in the juniors the day before.  She won her first fight, but then came up against club-mate Tatum (U52kg) in the next round, and lost that match. She won her next fight, then lost for bronze against the number 2 seed, and so finished 5th.  Tatum won all of her fights in a total of less than 1 and a half minutes in a  professional display, taking the gold medal.

Ozzy and Alex were both fighting in the U60kg category. Ozzy won his first two fights, and lost the pool final. Alex won his first and lost his second, so both went down to the repechage.  Alex fought back with two win, only to meet Ozzy in the bronze medal fight, which Ozzy won in golden score. Bronze for Ozzy, and 5th for Alex.

Ethan (U66kg) won his first fight and lost his second to the eventual gold medallist. She fought back with 3 more wins to take a well deserved bronze medal.  Ryan (U73kg) was unfortunate to lose his first fight against a German player, but battled through and won his pool, crossover fight and then the final, taking the gold medal.

A busy weekend up in Sheffield, some of our younger development players battling their way to podium places for their respective schools.

Scott and George walked away British Schools Champions, whilst Antonio and Joe were both unfortunate to lose their finals taking home a silver medal.  Miles, Charlie and Nathan all placed 7th in their groups, whilst David lost both his fights but showed positive attacking judo.  Many lessons were learned in defeat, and these guys will all come back raring to go for the next battle.

Tatum Keen and Ryan Salmon travelled with their England Squad team mates this weekend to the Cadet European Cup in Croatia. Second year cadet Tatum fought her way to the semi-final where she met and defeated the ranked #1 player in her group.  She narrowly lost the final, and came away with a superb SILVER medal, the latest BSJC player to prove themselves on the European stage.  Ryan, who had a bye in the first round was winning his first fight by wazari but was counted twice and eventually lost the fight. His opponent unfortunately lost his next fight and therefore Ryan was out of the competition.  Tatum and Ryan are now joined by Alex for the training camp where they will surely work hard and battle on.