Olympic Judo comes to Kent
From 19 to 23 December 2010, approximately 350 Judo players from 15 nations took part in one of the biggest, if not the biggest, pre-Games Training Camps ever held in the UK. The camp was a prelude to the Olympic Games taking place in 2012 and was held at Tonbridge School Sports Centre and Tonbridge JudoClub.
The following nations took part:
England, Scotland, Austria, Japan, China, Holland, Estonia, Sweden, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Norway, Denmark, Brazil and France.
Unfortunately, the Italian Judo players were unable to attend due to their plane not being allowed to land at Gatwick due to the snow.
Ukraine and Belarus have already signed an official agreement to establish a Judo Training Camp in Tonbridge for the period immediately before the Olympics.
The camp was an opportunity for Olympians from different nations to practice and train against each other. Nations have different coaching and fighting styles and the camp provided opportunities for junior players to experience different methods. The exposure to differerent cultural styles on and off the mat as well as the sheer scale of the event will prove to be excellent preparation for many of the younger players attending.
The Training Camp was the brain child of Chris Bowles, a British Judo Olympian from the 1980 Moscow Olympics and follows on from a similar camp last year when 150 Judo players attended from seven nations.
