A busy month at the Causeway Judo Club

A recent Grading saw all members of the club successful in advancing a grade or obtaining black belt points against a strong showing from the other Northern Ireland Judo clubs.

As well as the Grading success, three members of the club also passed their level one UK coaching certificate assessments. Which means the club now has a strong contingency of coaches to vary the training across all levels of Judo.

However the biggest achievement goes to the Ashcroft family who have just come back from France where they were representatives of the Coleraine area along with Rebecca and Stephen Cuckoo from the Coleraine Judo Club at the La Roch Sur Yon Judo camp.

Kurtis, Cameron and Jacob along with their father Alan (who is the club’s head coach) attended the camp which was a festival of Judo and when pitched against international players were able to more than hold their own on the mats.

Alan said: “We knew the standard was going to be high at the event, and whilst it wasn’t an international tournament there was a Randori element which is where you basically compete but in a practice environment.

“Kurtis was paired with the French number 2 at under 16 level and actually managed to outscore him whilst being noted by the French coach on his ability.

“This was an exceptional performance considering the strength both in numbers and physicality of the French players.”

However the club is not resting on its laurels and will maintain training over the summer. Anyone who wants to try Judo is more than welcome to come along to the sessions in the Castle Community Centre, Ballymoney on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Classes are 3 for adults and 2 for juniors and both classes start at 7.15pm over the summer. Judo is perfect for keeping fit as well as learning new skills.

You can find out more by calling Alan on 07835 575 328 or searching for the club on Facebook.