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Celebrating 25 years – Part 3

Posted on July 17, 2018

It wasn’t just as competitors that Court Lane started to make a mark in the late 90s.

Club coach Roger Spreadbury was already qualified as an Area Referee, and went on to achieve his National C.

John MacEnri also achieved Area Referee qualification.

Brett Caswell and Chris Batchelor undertook the Junior Referee scheme, frequently refereeing at the Mountbatten Centre, which then hosted all of Hampshire’s judo tournaments. Brett achieved the highest level of junior referee award, and passed the practical exam for Area Referee whilst refereeing at Crystal Palace.

The Junior Referee scheme is certainly something we would like to see more players explore – not everyone is a competitor. There are also always opening for time keepers and record keepers to assist with competition.

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Celebrating 25 years – Part 2

Posted on July 13, 2018

 

Competition success wasn’t immediate for the club, although players were competing from day 1 – Simon Brown was a regular early competitor.

The first medal came from Brett Caswell, winning the 1997 Hampshire Closed Orange & Under tournament. This was also his first competition!

Brett followed this with a medal at the 1998 Southern Area Open, and qualification for the Southern Area squad at the end of the  same year.

His main club competition came from Chris Batchelor, who took his first medal in 1998. The two became regular training and competition partners. Chris’ younger brother Tim also followed on the mat, before following a successful hockey career.

Success rapidly followed for the girls, with Kate Borland claiming a podium place. Brett’s younger sister Tiffany later became a fierce competitor for the club, including competing at the Kent and London Internationals.

1997 World Champion Kate Howey MBE visited in 1999, in the run up to the World Championships held in Birmingham. On the back of attending the 1999 Kendal Summer Camp and some crafty initiative, Brett blagged himself a volunteer role at the World Championships, meeting judo greats such as Ryoko Tamura.

At the end of the year, Brett secured a top two placing on the Southern Area squad, which gave him entry to that year’s National Championships. A bronze medal here meant a place on the Great Britain cadet squad, with his first overseas competition (and a fifth place) coming soon after.

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Nekoda Davis treats Court Lane to Olympic masterclass

Posted on May 7, 2018

Nekoda with class

Court Lane Judo Club celebrated their 25th birthday with a visit from Rio Olympian and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion Nekoda Smythe-Davis, on Saturday 5th May.

Guests included club founder and original coach Roger Spreadbury, and former coach and News Coach of the Year nominee Jill Brown.

Davis, who herself recently turned 25, demonstrated some of the techniques that helped her win a world bronze medal in 2017, and joined in practice with the players.

In an insightful and honest question and answer session, she answered questions about her judo career, how she prepares for competition and the pressures on her at the beginning of judo’s two year qualification cycle for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Davis was joined on the mat by Brett Caswell. Caswell won the inaugural -21 Commonwealth Judo championships in 2006, 2005 British Championships and represented Great Britain all over the world. Jonty Bassil was another willing uke.

The session ended with Davis and Spreadbury cutting a cake to honour the Club’s 25th birthday.

Nekoda and Brett Caswell
Working with George and Kaiden
Randori with Isla
Sangaku with Jonty
Roger and Nekoda cutting the cake

Current Club Coach Tony Brown said, “It was great to get a player of Nekoda’s calibre down to help us celebrate our 25th birthday. The Club is on the way back up, with several players being selected for Hampshire squads over the last couple of years, and this was our way of giving the players, and their parents, something to inspire them and motivate them to keep working hard at their judo. It is a tough sport, but as Nekoda amply demonstrated, the rewards are there for those who keep their focus and determination.”

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Isla picked for Hampshire team

Posted on May 3, 2018

We are pleased to announce that Isla Savellis-Fry has been selected to represent Hampshire in this year’s Intercounty tournament.

Isla will be competing at -63kg, at the southern area event being hosted in Gillingham, Kent on 13th May.

Isla is the first female player from the Club to be selected for this team event.

Well done Isla!

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Brett Caswell to attend Olympic session with Nekoda Davis

Posted on April 27, 2018

Brett at GB World Cup 2007

We are delighted to confirm that Brett, our own 2005 British champion and former -21 Commonwealth champion, will be attending the session with Nekoda Davis on 5th May.

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Celebrating 25 years – Part 1

Posted on March 5, 2018

You may have heard us mention that this year marks 25 years of Court Lane Judo Club…

It’s a remarkable achievement, but it seems only yesterday that the Club opened at Court Lane Junior School.

The Club was founded by Roger Spreadbury, Jill Brown and Tony Brown, in April 1993. We all met in  Cosham Community Association Judo Club,  but decided that we wanted to run our own Cub, free from outside management.

Originally lessons were held in the Small Hall, with mats stored in a shed across the playground – it was great fun carrying them in the wind and rain.

We then moved to the Old Dining Room (now demolished), where we put away tables and chairs to lay mats, then put them all out again at the end of the session.

Sessions were then split between the Old Dining Room and the Main Hall, with an eventual move to the Main Hall when it was redeveloped with additional storage, and the Old Dining Room demolished.

In 1998 we were able to purchase new 2×1 metre mats to replace those we had started with, these mats are still going strong today. (We still have four of the original mats in storage…).

We worked closely with Roger’s other club, in Havant, and players were able to attend sessions led by guest coaches such as the great Roy Inman MBE and 1997 World Champion and four times Olympian, with two  Olympic medals, Kate Howey MBE.

 

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Hampshire Closed success for Isla

Posted on March 4, 2018

Two players represented the Club at today’s Hampshire Closed, in Aldershot.

Kaiden Southey delivered his best competition performance to date, beating players graded a whole belt or more higher than him, to reach the 2nd round of pools in his weight.

Isla Savellis-Fry proved that her last competition medal was no fluke, with a totally focussed performance in the girls -63kg. 4 wins out of 5 secured her a silver medal, and an invitation to train with the Hampshire squad – the first Court Lane female player to receive such an invitation.

Well done to both players, great results in our 25th year!

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Golden start to Club’s 25th year

Posted on January 25, 2018

Isla Savellis-Fry made a golden start to the Club’s 25th year with a gold medal at Sunday’s South Coast Split Grade Green Belt & Under competition.

Fighting in the Red & Yellow Belt section, Isla was in dominant form, winning all 4 of her fights with maximum ippon scores. Two of these contests were against players in a heavier weight category who had been combined with Isla’s group.

Isla joins a small group of female medallists from the Club – Kate Borland, Tiffany Caswell, Sophie Read, Sophie Dolman, Sarah Carr and Jess Oakden.

A fantastic start to the year, and a brilliant result for all Isla’s hard work and focus.

Isla wasn’t the only player in action. Jorge Nogueira and Dylan Butcher also contested the Red & Yellow Belt section. Dylan was the lightest player in his weight and had several good fights, although the essential win eluded him. Jorge’s first contest was a short affair, being thrown almost immediately with uchi mata, but in his second contest he held his own for most of the duration.

A good way to start the year!

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Vision for success

Posted on December 29, 2017

Brett Caswell throws for Ippon at 2007 GB World Cup

Clearing out my old diaries and other accumulated rubbish in my locker at work, and found this note from Brett Caswell… He has attributed this to American judoka Kevin Asano, who won a bronze at the 1987 World Championships and silver at the 1988 Olympics.

It seemed an appropriate message to share as we end one year, and look forward to our 25th anniversary next year.

Vision for success

v – Vision. First and foremost you need a dream!

I – inspiration. Let desire fuel your fire!

S – Strategy. Develop a plan of action!

I – Initiate. Don’t be afraid of taking risks!

O – Other people. Surround yourself with others who can help you win!

N – Never give up. You need to persevere through the hardships!

…Success will not happen without a focussed, on-purpose, plan of action!

Whether you make it to the Olympics or not is not the main thing in life. When you come right down to it, judo competition is really just a game. Whether you win or lose in competition, life will go on.

The real issue is much deeper. If you have a clear vision for the Olympics, what you do along the journey is more important than the outcome. The lessons you learn. the experiences you gain, and the character you build will determine who becomes a real champion in life. A TRUE CHAMPION IS NOT SO MUCH ONE WHO WEARS A GOLD MEDAL AROUND HI SNECK, BUT ONE WHO WEARS A GOLD MEDAL IN HIS HEART.

 

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