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East Ham’s Langdon School
hosted the judo stars of tomorrow at the Olympic sport’s second
London Youth Games feeder event on Saturday 15 January.
The second instalment of
the fledgling feeder series attracted 120 entries from novice
to experienced young judoka from schools across the capital.
As a taster for June’s
Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, which unearthed talents such
as two-time Olympic judoka Winston Gordon, the event was an opportunity
for competitors and officials to practice their skills in a nurturing
environment prior to participating in the main Games.
The event was made possible
by funding from Sporting Pathways which was used to purchase the
electronic scoring equipment as younger and lower grades had the
opportunity to take part in a first-class developmental event
close to home.
10 junior officials and
10 TOCs (Technical officials for clubs and schools) took part
and helped support the organisation of the day which was run by
the London Area and supported by British Judo’s London development
team.
Karen French, British Judo’s
London Development Manager, said: “I’m pleased that the London
Area and its clubs are all working together to give the youngsters
the best opportunities to not only compete but run their own events.
“I’m particularly thankful
to all of the adult officials, referees, volunteers and catering
who were encouraging and welcoming to all the young volunteers
and also helped with their training which did make it an intense
but enjoyable day.
“I would also like to extend
my thanks to Pat Hector at Langdon School and his team who make
putting on the event a pleasure and allowed us to take over the
school’s Sports Centre.”
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