Hampshire Closed medallists 2005 – Owen Jones, Ben and Joe Garside, Lewis Dolman
Don’t forget to enter the 2025 Hampshire Closed – entry is open now via the Southern Area website.
Court Lane has a proud record in the Hampshire Closed, Chloe Lymer being our most recent medallist in 2023. We also won medals in in 2022 (Chloe and Lewis Hook, with Michael Churcher just missing out in the seniors).
Jonty Bassil gets a mention in the Royal Navy Judo Association’s contribution to the British Judo 2023-4 Annual Report, for his part in the National Teams.
This is not the first time the club or associated players have got a mention in BJA publications – the Club was featured several years ago when it received the Sport England Clubmark. Photos of Brett Caswell at the GB World Cup were also used in an annual report, Brett also got several mentions in The World of Judo.
Please ask Kay if you would like to see the 2023-4 Annual Report.
Put your hands up if you recognise this referee spotted undergoing her practical exam at the Southern Area Development Competition! (Pleased to say she passed).
Referees are a vital part of any sport, keeping the action moving, keeping players safe and awarding points and penalties as required.
Undertaking a refereeing course is a great way to learn the rules, that will help you as a competitor, and gives you a chance to give something back to Judo
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-red-polo-shirt-sitting-near-chalkboard-3779448/
I overheard an interesting conversation whilst walking the dogs the other day that got me thinking.
Three joggers were puffing their way along the road, and moaning that an event was offering wooden medals…
Personally, I thought the idea of a wooden medal was quite different and I would be quite intrigued by it. It also made me wonder, what is the motivation for entering the event in the first place? Is it just in pursuit of medals – these were hardly elite runners. Or should you be entering for the experience, the chance to see if you have improved your time, that you have bettered your self?
It’s important to keep your body fuelled when training. There is a lot of research available online and in print as to what to eat and when to eat.
All evidence suggests that there should be a clear 2 hour window between eating a meal and training. The body needs time to digest food before exercise.
Eating too much too soon before exercise can lead to feelings of sickness and in extreme cases the body will look to get rid of what it has eaten. Physiologically, this is because the body needs blood to aid in digestion – the same blood that it needs to transport oxygen to and remove lactic acids from working muscles. The body sees supporting exercise as more important – as part of its fight or flight response – and will therefore look to remove any obstacles to maintaining muscle efficiency.
We recognise that with the younger players starting training at 6pm it is difficult to achieve a 2 hour gap, but please can meals be kept light to minimise the risk of any unpleasant moments on the mat.
The Judo Code is a list of values that Professor Jigoro Kano believed all judoka should follow. By following this code, they would improve themselves and ultimately society.
British Judo has added another value, that of Fair Play. This was added in response to the horror stories that we hear frequently of player, parent and fan behaviour in other sports, at all levels. Fair Play really can be summarised as being a good sport, playing by the rules, don’t cheat, equity and equality.
Players are asked about the Judo Code as part of their gradings.
This provoked an interesting discussion with the younger players on Thursday – is it ever ok to swear at the referee when their decision goes against you/your team (they were all very clear, NO!). To “dive” to win a penalty, to feign an injury to get a free kick? To take drugs to enhance performance? The posturing, posing, name calling and showboating of other combat sports that get regular media coverage? Some of these are harder to answer – some are plainly cheating but play out regularly across our TV screens in elite, professional sport. If sporting idols demonstrate this type of behaviour, what chance is there for grassroots sport? Just imagine if all tennis players had followed the example of John McEnroe….
It would be foolish to deny that Judo has had some unsavoury incidents. But as one of the largest sports in the world (both in terms of member countries and participants) they are rare. This may be of course simply because there is no (or very little) money to be made in Judo (sad but true) so less incentive to cheat. Or it may be because of the values that Professor Kano built in from that start.
All sports coaches in the UK should follow the Code of Practice for Sports Coaches. Players and parents should also be aware of the Code of Conduct published by Sport England. By following the Judo Code and these simple rules we can keep Judo and sport in general fair, safe and enjoyable for everyone.
Tony and Kev had the honour of representing the Club at the celebration of the life of Tony Twining, held at The Oaks in Havant on Tuesday 28 February. Tony passed away at the end of January.
Tony was a keen judo player, starting his judo career with Percy Sekine at the London Judokan before gaining his black belt with us. Tony had some great ashi waza and a devastating hip throw. He was key in Tony Brown gaining his Level 2 coaching award, being his uke for the day. He was also present when the BBC’s Jon Cuthill came to the Club to record a piece for his show on Radio Solent.
A coach himself, he introduced his daughters to judo as well as supporting many other players – and always had a story to tell!
Tony was also a former governor of Court Lane Junior School.
Although not present on the mat for a while, Tony was a familiar sight around Cosham, walking his beloved dogs, and will be much missed by all who knew him.
Our thoughts are with his wife Bernie and daughters Anna, Beckie and Sophie.
