A Special Day for Judo

Tonbridge Judo Club celebrated a momentous day in its 50 year history on Saturday by hosting its first ever BJA two star competition.

Having converted The Angel Centre into a dojo for the day, the under 16 orange belt and below players put on a show for the 300 spectators to enjoy.

"It's quite a landmark," said chairman and chief coach Chris Bowles. "We have worked hard over the last couple of years to build a strong club and association in the area. The club has really thrived, we have an amazing recreational side to the club, we have also got quite a competitive side to the club, with three or four boys in the national squad.

"The reason for the competition was to show people that we have now got everything in place to put on tournaments like this. We are capable of hosting events all the way from novice to international."

The event was arranged to coincide with the 50th anniversary year of the judo club and organisers felt it was the perfect opportunity to cement the club's position in the sport.

Bowles explained how the club were not only looking to make the orange belt and under an annual occurrence, but he also said they were planning on hosting a yearly national event, involving the best squad players in the country, from the middle of 2008.

Having obtained the Bronze Club Mark status this year, Bowles has a two-year plan which will see his beloved club gain Silver then Gold Club Mark status and hopefully put Tonbridge on the map in the judo world.

And he doesn't want to stop there. If he has his way, Swanmead - the current training base - will be developed into a centre of excellence of which there are only two others in the entire country, offering his existing crop of students the very best facilities in which to train to attain their dream of one day becoming Olympians.

"In our view it's the right way to grow up," said Bowles, himself an under 21 European champion and British representative at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

"The children have a better attitude towards their well being, their life is a healthy life and they are in a very, very settled environment."

And Tonbridge Judo Club's ambitions are a far cry from the humble beginnings of 50 years ago, when it first met at the Spotted Dog pub in Penshurst led by two local policeman and judo enthusiasts Dan Crooks and Brian Easton

Bowles explained had it not been for Dick Marcroft, the club would never have produced the champions it did at its Bank Street dojo in the 1970s, where it gained a reputation as one of the country's top clubs.

After a spell in a hut behind the George and Dragon pub in Tonbridge, the club was based at the Byng Hall in Tunbridge Wells by 1974. Efforts began to raise funds for a dedicated training hall at the Swanmead site in Tonbridge on land donated by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.

This was finally achieved in 1977 and the Swanmead dojo was built by supporters who had raised £16,000.

The late 1980s and 1990s saw a quieter period for the club when the number of members declined, as did the enthusiasm for competitions. But by 2001, Tonbridge Judo Club was back on its feet following a £12,000 refit of the Swanmead sports hall.

Bowles returned to the club as chief coach in 2002 and, assisted by Marcroft and Pulley, plus recent addition Colin Eldridge, a World Class Start Programme Coach, is producing a new crop of potential champions once again. The Marcroft brothers still make regular appearances at training sessions.