Rainham Judo Club is set to move into a new much needed facility as well as receive a gold Clubmark Award, which will complete a fabulous February for the Kent club.

The official opening of the new dojo will take place on Friday 20th February 2009 at the club’s new Medway Park venue.

The club will also be renamed as Medway Park Judo Club, to coincide with their new dojo location.

The opening will be attended by The Mayor (Cllr David Carr) and Mayoress of Medway (Mrs Kirstine Carr), Design White, Chairman of the British Judo Association, and Beijing Olympian and world medallist Peter Cousins, who will officially open the new dojo.

The opening of the new venue will be celebrated with the club also being presented with their gold Clubmark Award. “The two events are a fantastic achievement for the club who have produced many national squad players, and have provided a safe club environment for over forty years”, said BJA Chairman Densign White.

The club will move from their current site on Darland Aveune to the new purpose built multi-sport Medway Park. The club has had many venues since its founding in 1964, including their current venue which was once the Riverside visitors centre and was moved by a lorry to its current location.

Medway Park sports complex has had a £11.1million development to transform the Black Lion leisure centre into a regional centre of sporting excellence. The facility will host the majority of Olympic sports, with the judo dojo being the first to open.

The structure of the venue has been provided to the club by Medway Council, but all fixtures and fittings have been funded by the club itself. Over the past 11 years the club has taken every opportunity to raise funds, including sponsored throws, walks, raffles and presentation evenings. The club has also received a grant from the Sport England ‘Awards For All’ scheme.

The new dojo will double the size of the club’s current mat area and will open up new opportunities to the club, including having the ability to host small scale competitions without affecting the clubs current ethos.

The renamed Medway Park Judo Club is now in it’s 45th year and they are committed to continuing the development of judo at a grassroots level.

Wendy Malkinson, Medway Park Judo Club, Secretary, said, “The new dojo will give us the capacity to develop our players, membership, coaches and volunteers within a dedicated judo environment and it will also allow us to align our identity with the Medway Park development and reap the long term benefits which the alliance can bring.

“The new dojo will allow us to hold grassroots mini-mon competitions to develop not only our own players but also those from the local and regional area, and will also allow the club to develop a partnership with the BJA schools development programme.

“The players are all very excited and will appreciate the improved facility immensely.”

She continued, “Clubmark awarded by the British Judo Association has helped the club to develop our structure, and to continue to strive for the next milestone.

“By achieving the gold award it shows that we have a solid structure in place at our club, and we would be happy to assist other clubs in the local area to also achieve Clubmark status.”

Bob Dimond, Medway 2012 Manager, said, "We are delighted to celebrate the latest stage in the development of the Medway Park regional centre of sporting excellence with the official opening of our new judo centre. Working closely with the club and the British Judo Association I believe we have created a centre which will play a significant role in the development of judo in the region."

--End—

Photo opportunities will be available on the day please contact James Sills if you wish to attend.

Contacts

Media Contact

James Sills

PR Officer

(t) 07967 957873

(e) jamessills@britishjudo.org.uk

British Judo Association Clubmark contact

Karen French

Club Development Officer

(t) 07779 026346

(e) karenfrench@britishjudo.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1948 the British Judo Association represents Great Britain internationally and is a member of The International Judo Federation, The European Judo Union, The British Olympic Association, The Central Council of Physical Recreation, Commonwealth Judo Association, and the Commonwealth Games Council. 

The BJA strives to increase participation in judo, to produce a safe environment for all and to produce elite players to compete on the World Stage.

British Judo Association Clubmark Award

‘Working together to develop and recognise your club’

The British Judo Association Club Recognition scheme is a new initiative that is being introduced to recognise and reward examples of good practice within clubs that are promoting and delivering Judo. It will also spread best practice in management and coaching across the country.

An integral part of the BJA Recognition Scheme is the Sport England Clubmark - a scheme created in partnership with National Governing Bodies with the aim of accrediting sports clubs that are committed to providing a safe, effective and child-friendly environment for children and young people.