3k’s Judoka Adam Dobbinson has been selected for a prestigious award by Walsall College where he was named Sports apprentice of the Year at a recent awards ceremony. The award was for his hard work for BTEC Level 3 in Sports Coaching during the past College year. Adam is also on the Advanced Apprenticeship for Sporting Excellence- Judo ( AASE) at the University of Wolverhampton which is combined with his academic studies and is the first course of its kind to be delivered at the University .
Adam suffered a serious shoulder injury in February at the Midland Area under 20’s tournament. He has used his recovery period to fully concentrate on the BTEC modules and also the Judo NVQ level 3 and as well as maintaining a very high fitness standard off the judo mat, he has also obtained distinction level in many subjects. Adam was selected from numerous other students and sports with a much higher profile than Judo - this is excellent news for the AASE group , the 3K’s and of course Adam who was delighted with his award. Well done Adam !!!!
Two judoka from 3K’s Judo Club represented Great Britain at the European Kurash Championships last weekend. At very short notice, Jack Webb (U-66 kgs) and James Lawrence (U-81kgs) flew to Greece to compete . Both players gave an excellent account of themselves and both returned with bronze medals for their efforts. The 3k’s has a long association with the sport of Kurash and has produced many medallists over the years at national and international level , this tournament being the latest to produce great results - congratulations to Jack and James
Please note that SENIOR training night on TUESDAY nights are CANCELLED until further notice , this affects seniors only , junior training continues as usual.
SENIOR TRAINING ON THURSDAY NIGHT 8:00pm - 9:30 pm will continue as usual
Adam Dobbinson represented 3K’s at the British U-20 Trials at EIS Sheffield on 10th January . Adam competed at U-90 kgs for the first time in a very competitive group containing many GB Squad players. As expected the standard was very high . His first bout was against the current England number 2 and despite his efforts he was thrown for ippon. Due to the system on the day Adam progressed to the repecharge and competed against experienced GB player Mark Boyes , the bout was a fierce fight with Adam a wazari down following a good attack by Boyes and despite efforts in newaza he just could not break through . With a few seconds of time left Adam went for broke but was caught for a good ippon seionage to end the contest , Boyes went on to win the bronze medal. Adam was obviously disappointed but gave a good account of himself in a very tough tournament. Well done Adam !
Sunday 14th December 2008 and several juniors took to the mats at University of Wolverhampton Campus in Walsall for the Midland Area Commemorative Event, an event that honours and remembers those members of Midland Area Judo that are no longer with us.
James Lawrence and Adam Dobbinson both attended a Masterclass given by former World , European and Olympic medallist Neil Adams MBE 8th Dan last weekend. The event was hosted by Lordswood Budokan Judo Club , Birmingham. Both players were invited by Chris Murphy of Budokan to attend. The content of instruction and technical expertise was as expected , excellent , Adam was used as Uke for a gripping demonstration and later commented ‘it was like trying to grip an immovable object in a judo suit’. Thanks to Chris for the invite and for 3ks Coach Bill Webb for recommending both to attend.
3k’s Judokas Steve Varndell and Stuart Anderson competed at the Rod Lane Annual Tournament in the novice to 3rd Kyu U-66 and Over 81kgs respectively. Steve in only his second tournament fought well on the day and was rewarded with a bronze medal in his catergory. Stuart, in his first ever competitive event was progressing well having won his first 2 fights only to lose out to a disqualification , bringing his competition to a premature end. Coach Rob Holden was pleased with both players efforts on the day and the finer points of contest rules will be subject to much discussion in the coming weeks ! Well done to Steve and Stuart, it’s good to see our newer players starting their competitive experience.
Just to let you know that the last Tuesday night judo class will be 9th December 2008. After this there will be the Christmas party on Wednesday 17th December 2008 from 7pm - 9pm, prizes for best fancy dress. All Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday players are welcome and they can bring a friend. Cost is £2 per head for everyone.
Christmas holidays will begin after Thursday night class on the 18th December 2008.
All classes resume from Monday 5th January 2009
Adam and James enjoyed their trip to Turkey for the World Junior Kurash Championships. The Tournament included players from Uzbekistan , Kazakstan , France , Germany , Japan , USA , New Zealand , Hungary , Greece and Turkey and numerous other nations. The standard of competition was as expected very high , Adam competed in the U-100 kgs and faced a South African player and despite a hard fought bout was beaten , unfortunately it was a knock out competition with no repecharge so Adam went out of the tournament but gave a good account of himself. James met a Kazakstan player in the U-73 kgs and was also beaten ,but again fighting hard against a player from the region where Kurash is a highly practised sport . Both players did the 3K’s and Great Britain proud with their efforts. They managed to absorb some of the culture on offer and Adam managed to absorb a great deal of the local cuisine , unfortunately James had to watch his weight so couldn’t join the fray until he finished his competition. Photos to follow soon
