Arsenal Football Club are on the verge of producing some exciting judo talent, both on and off the mat after hosting two events in March to encourage more young people to take up the Olympic sport.

The seventh TOCS (Technical Officials for Clubs and Schools) course took place at Cardinal Pole Roman Catholic School in Hackney, as part of British Judo’s participation drive for young technical officials.

Enthusiastic youngsters put their newly-acquired skills into practice when the school hosted a Premier League 4 Sport competition in March.

While competing in the event, all of the youngsters that had completed their officiating course also managed to find time in between fighting to have a go on the clocks. The TOCS were supported by their mentor Craig Ringer who - as well as helping to run the event - supported the TOCS ensuring that they were all comfortable with what they were doing and was on hand to answer any questions that they may have had.

The TOCS award has been created by the British Judo Association to encourage a generation of young technical officials into the sport and is designed for young people to get involved in officiating at the entry level of time keeper/scorer. Anyone between the ages of 10 and 24 can qualify as a TOC, with those aged 14 years and over also gaining the full timekeepers qualification. Those aged between 10 and 14 years on passing the course will hold a TOC award.

As for the competition itself, 32 young people (14 girls and 18 boys) aged between 11-14 took part in at least three fights each. Well done to Rico Francis, Amenehmet Asante, Haider Romero, Samuel Ibini,

Christian Paton, Kenneth Oyenusy and Thanu Ngo for winning their respective groups.

The TOCS all did an excellent job on the clocks ensuring that every contest was timed correctly, allowing the competition to run smoothly. The TOCS concentrated hard and successfully demonstrated the skills that they learnt on the course 3 weeks earlier. At the end of the competition the TOCS were presented with certificates and record cards so that they can record the dates of any other competitions that they officiate in the future.

Karen French London Development Manager said: "The engagement with the school and its staff has provided a great learning environment for not only the TOCS, but the students who competed on the day. The school has been the host for The Premier League 4 Sport satellite club and now the Community Club Capital London Judo Club which meets on a Monday and Wednesday evening in the school Gym and which is going from strength to strength with Coach Gabor Szanyi- Nagy".