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Coventry Judo Club, the
renowned outfit that nurtured the talents of two-time Olympic
silver medallist and five-time European Champion Neil Adams, is
urgently seeking a new training venue.
The Midlands club are one
of British judo’s most famed clubs, having established a much-admired
production line which has seen the likes of British legend Neil
Adams, visually impaired standouts Joe and Sam Ingram, all polish
their sublime skills at the club.
Club Secretary Sara Hayes
is desperate to secure the future of the club.
“People are trying their
best to help and suggest venues and put forward ideas,” she said.
“The problem is that we’ve
got seven sessions over four days which presents a problem for
storing mats and we need any venue to be flexible with regards
to availability.”
Hayes added: “We started
at the school three years and several buildings were due to be
demolished so we saw it as a short-term move. We knew that they
would ask us to vacate at some point, and we have until the end
of July" .
The club have been working
tirelessly to secure a new home but have been unsuccessful in
their search for an affordable and spacious venue.
“We have one paid coach
and the rest are volunteers, we only charge children £3 a session
and we want to keep it at that price,” said Hayes.
“If we wanted to entertain
more expensive locations then we’d have to put our prices up and
that would create a barrier which could stop the players from
attending. We don’t want to do that.”
Joanne Walker, British
Judo Association’s West Midlands Technical Officer, is aiding
the club’s desperate appeal for a new venue.
“Coventry are one of our
most famous clubs and have a storied background in British judo,”
she said.
“Coventry Judo Club has
no temporary or permanent location to go to. As of end of school
term they will have no venue and would therefore have to close
the club,” she added.
Former British international
Wayne Lakin, who works for the British Judo Association as manager
of the Enjoy Judo Schools Programme, trained at Coventry as a
fast-rising teenager.
Lakin, now 37, said: “I
was at Coventry when I was 16 and technically I’m still a member
now.
“I used to do all my training
there with fellow internationals and we were quite lucky that
everybody used to come to the club. In the mid 1990’s we had around
20 full-time fighters there.
“In 1996 we had seven British
Champions and many former players have since gone on to work for
the British Judo Association such as High Performance coaches
Darren Warner, and Jamie Johnson,” added the 4 th Dan.
Lakin helped the club find
their current premises and is hopeful that their years of service
to the sport will continue.
“I hope they can find a
new venue as they’ve worked so hard over the years to develop
British talent and serve judo enthusiasts from across the country.”
The British Judo Association
is the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport of judo in
Great Britain.
If you have a venue available
or information which may be of use then please contact Club Secretary
Sara Hayes on 07817 490241.
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