Achievements and Awards Report 2009
There was an opportunity in May this year for the club to apply for the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) funded scholarship scheme called “Clubs of Excellence”. I nominated Budokan on behalf of the coaches, committee, and members. The aim was to raise the club’s profile by using its achievements and structured development plans to host training for elite athletes in the State, submitting development programs, reporting on achievements, and under the watchful eye of National Coaches (who are already within the club), therefore obtaining $5000 pa to support these activities. The development and record of the club spoke for themselves and we were a worthy contender. However, instead of assessing the three clubs who nominated, the Judo NSW Board of Management decided to nominate their own candidate, the NSW Black Belt Register (BBR), as the NSW nominee, effectively eliminating the three clubs from contention. Unfortunately, at the National level, the BBR was deemed not to qualify as a “club”. NSW therefore failed to nominate a viable club, and no “Club of Excellence” was awarded in NSW, a terrible waste of an opportunity. Notably a number of clubs from other states including QLD, VIC and ACT, succeeded in achieving the funding, in the case of 2 states, more than 1 club each.
This is part of the frustrating environment within which Judo has to survive. That said, the Board decided to use the “unjust” decision of the national body to attempt to unify clubs via a forum to determine how to better develop elite competition players in NSW. Various strategies were debated with as many ideas mooted. Running State-sponsored competition development squads was the focus, however, to date nothing of any substance has eventuated.
Since then Phil McDermott (a former Board member) was engaged by the Board to build a ‘development’ plan for NSW. To contribute to this, in late August, Kerrye and I sat with him for more than half a day to discuss the strategies and culture that is “Budokan”; why it is deemed to be a “successful” club, some of our “secrets”, how it could be taken to the next “level” and would we assist other clubs to develop and also be assisted to take us to another level. Club membership development, club coaching development, professional coaching, media profiling, schools Judo, grading systems, and numerous other topics were discussed.
In October 2009, the National body convened a “Grassroots National Development” forum in conjunction with the ASC at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) over the last weekend of the NTID Camp pre Junior World Championship training camp. I attended this forum as one of NSW’s delegates and it was highly worthwhile in terms of the networking opportunities across all JFA states, and exposure to the national initiatives and the strategies of other states and clubs. There is significant interest in running clubs like businesses and in professional and semi-professional coaching to attract coaches to clubs, thereby allowing a structure to support membership growth. There is also interest in developing a sport structure that is marketable, and in better marketing that structure, and to help the community become more aware and educated regarding Judo. Other areas discussed included developing more and better coaches, increasing the membership/participation of women in Judo, evaluating the current grading systems in particular for juniors, looking at the role of elite coach and athlete development programs, and having States work more closely together to benefit from initiatives such as competition management systems, on-line membership, and on-line tournament entry.
The personal goals that I took away from this forum were to:
- help take Budokan to the next “level”, but incrementally so, and with due acknowledgement to the limitations of key stakeholders. Coach development is critical to be able to support an increase in training sessions, but quality of services will not be compromised. Reliability of these services is also critical as is continual implementation of initiatives to stimulate membership growth.
- increase Budokan’s participation at State level, in terms of commitment to support critical events and also contributing both the skills and resources to help run them. This includes my commitment to complete the NSW Sporting Code by the end of this year, and my objective to have Budokan representation on the NSW Board of Management.
- increase Budokan’s commitment to contribute to National initiatives, to have representation on National Commissions. To that end, Kerrye and I volunteered to assist in the national review of the junior grading system.
- learn lessons from successful martial arts “businesses” and professional coaches of Judo club businesses and use some of their strategies to stimulate the club and its membership.
So my message in this report is to look at the club from both an internal and an external perspective and to invite you to be a part of its development to the next level, not just in terms of size and membership, but also with respect to the quality of the services provided, and the level of performance and achievements of its members.
Key areas against which to acknowledge our achievement and within which to consider further development are listed as follows:
Facilities and Services:
- Venue: The Budokan mat area is currently 98 mats (160 sqm area) on a sprung floor. With a number of new red mats recently purchased by JFA(NSW) to form full red square competition areas, we recently procured 24 of their old red mats. The hardware required to extend our mat area is being finalised and when complete, will increase our mat area by 25% to 198 sqm. The only issue arising from this is front door access limitations.
- Strength and Conditioning Training: The club’s elite athletes are introduced to strength and conditioning training at “Progressive Fitness”, Kerrye’s sports training business, and Rob and Kerrye’s gymnasium. In the past, programs for the NTID athletes have been forwarded to the National NTID Coordinator. Rob and Kerrye provide strength and conditioning programs for Budokan’s athletes where needed.
- Cross Training: The Dojo is shared with Makotokan Aikido Club and Machado Brazilian Ju Jitsu Club, and Budokan members have easy access to cross-train with these clubs.
- Club Participation: Each year, the Club participates in club visits. In the past, we have benefitted from visits by clubs from New Caledonia, Saitama Japan, and also from French, German, and Japanese coaches, as well as interstate clubs, notably NT. In 2007 and 2008, Budokan was used as the State Squad Training venue for the NSW Junior Boys Team. This year we had the benefit of a visit by Spanish coach Emilio Fuentes 6Dan over a couple of months.
- Digital Video Camera: Budokan owns a HD Digital Video Camera, which we use for technique and strategy analysis, and it can also be used for marketing and promotion. After the 2008 and 2009 Nationals, we produced a DVD for every athlete who participated. A highlights montage of the 2009 Nationals is on “Youtube”.
Athlete Sponsorships / Selections / Support:
- National talent Identification and Development (NTID) Squad:In 2007, Nik Zellner was a member of the National Talent Identification and Development (NTID) Squad. In 2008, Jake Young was a member of the Squad and Nik Zellner and Kevin Da Silva were selected as reserve athletes. Jake had to miss the 2009 selection camp because of injury. Kevin Da Silva and Shaun McDougall attended this camp and as a result Kevin was selected as a 2009 NTID athlete (ranked #1 position in Australia) and Shaun McDougall was selected on the reserve list. In 2009, Shaun McDougall was selected to participate at the National Elite Training Camp at the AIS in October 2009 and Jake Young and Vanessa Hall were sponsored by Judo NSW and Budokan to also participate at this camp. Budokan strongly supports the NTID scheme and works closely with its coordinator, Daniel Kelly. Budokan sponsors 100% of the club training fees for club members who are NTID Squad athletes.
- Elite Athlete Support:Budokan provides financial and additional technical support (via technical clinics) to its NSW representatives to the Nationals and to athletes who represent the club, NSW, or internationally. In 2009, the club funded its 19 NSW State Team athletes who competed at the Nationals, our Kata competitor to the Nationals, the State Coaches and Managers who officiated, and the athletes who represented Australia internationally and participated at national NTID events. The value of this sponsorship is $5165 for the calendar year 2009.
- Support of the BBR:At the 2008 annual dinner and awards night of NSW Judo's Black Belt Register (BBR), Andras Koltai was awarded the NSW Best new Black Belt of the year. At the 2007 BBR Dinner, Nikola Pejic was awarded the prestigious Jim Robinson Award. Dale Keogh is one of the BBR’s instructors in Kata development.
Competition Participation & Performance - 2009:
- ACT Open: 17 athletes competed in 21 divisions with the following results: Gold x 4; Silver x 3, Bronze x 4, 4thx 1, 5th x 4
- QueenslandOpen: 17 athletes competed in 24 divisions with the following results: Gold x 5; Silver x 6, Bronze x 4, 4thx 1, 5th x 2
- NSW Open: 19 athletes competedin 28 divisions, close to if not the largest club division representation at any single competition, with the following results: Gold x 8, Silver x 6, Bronze x 4, 4thx 3 and 5thx 2
- Nationals: 19 athletes competed in 24 divisions, 1 more athlete than in 2008. 6 athletes (compared to 4 in 2008) competed in their first Nationals with 2 medalling and 1 fighting for Bronze medal. 2009 Nationals was a competition of consolidation with many athletes moving onto new age and weight categories. 7 athletes (compared to 5 in 2008) were selected to play in 2 age divisions each. Overall the club achieved 1 Gold, 4 Silver, and 6 Bronze medals, with 6 x 5th and 4 x 7th places. In the 8 National Championships in which Budokan has been represented since 2002, 135 of our athletes have competed in 166 divisions and achieved 102 medals: 39 Gold, 19 Silver, and 44 Bronze medals, plus 26 x 5th, 18 x 7th, and 5 x 9th placings.
- WorldUniversity Games: Budokan athlete Jennifer Purcell competed in the World University Games in Serbia during July and achieved a 9th place.
- Junior Pacific Rim International and Junior World Championship Competitions. Budokan athlete Shaun McDougall represented Australia at the 2009 Junior Pacific Rim competition in Taiwan 14-16 August achieving a Bronze Medal. He was also selected to the Junior World Championships in France 20-25 October where he was unplaced.
- NSWStateTeams Competition. Budokan entered 10 teams which well surpassed the number of teams entered by any other NSW club. Of the 10 categories available on the day, Budokan entered teams in 9, winning 5, coming 2nd in two, and 3rd in two more. Wins in the Junior Boys (U/13), Junior Girls (U/13), Junior Girls (U/16yrs weighted) Teams, and the Masters Men and Masters Women Teams. 2nd place to the Women's A and Girls U/13 B Teams, and 3rdPlaceto Boys (U/16 weighted) Team and Men’s B (Open Weight, Graded Orange and Green Belt) Teams. The Men’s A (Open Weight, Open Grade) Team just missed out by 3 points in making the final pool.
- Senior Kyu (Coloured Belt) Grade development: Seven Budokan seniors participated in the 2009 JFA(NSW) Kyu (coloured belts) grades and Masters Competition resulting in 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and a bronze medal. Our 7 athletes had 27 fights and won over 140 competition points towards their next grading.
- NSW Teams League “Fight Night” Competition. In 2007, JFA(NSW) launched a 9 person Teams League with a number of heats culminating in a Final Pool. The 9 athlete Team comprised junior and senior male and female athletes. Budokan had a full team with reserve athletes. To create a unique club spirit, we launched purple and green Team Budokan judo uniforms, created a music DVD to accompany each athlete onto the mat and had a fanfare of supporters at each “Fight Night”. Budokan won Heat 2 in Sept ‘07 against Kugatsu and a composite Team from Macquarie Uni and Illawarra International. The finals were convened on 30th Nov ‘07 at Olympic Park, where Budokan defeated both Kugatsu and the Uni of NSW Judo Clubs to win the first State Teams League Competition. Unfortunately this event has not been run since 2007 – another lost opportunity for promoting club spirit across the full gambit of membership participation.
- Budokan MONSters Competition. On the 23rdAugust this year, we hosted our eighth annual MONSter competition since 2002. Budokan is one of only 2 clubs in NSW who have maintained the tradition of hosting the State-wide event on behalf of JFA(NSW). Using an electronic scoring and timing system for the second year, and with high expectations (participation in 2008 was up by nearly 40% on 2007 with 48 entries), this year’s participation was disappointingly and surprisingly low at about 30. We were considering holding a separate U/13s event this year but the calendar was very overcrowded and we decided to cancel that event. However, we have nominated the 8thAugust 2010 on the JFA(NSW) calendar as the date for the combined MONSter League and Budokan U/13s Competition. It is two weeks earlier to fit around the revised JFA calendar.
- Volunteers. Congratulations to Patrick Waite who was awarded the NSW Volunteer of the Year award at the 2009 Nationals, to Kerrye who was Junior State Coach this year and also to Kirsten and Karen who were State Managers to the Nationals. This sets a great example to both club members and to other clubs.
Summary of Achievements and Budokan’s Future. Achievements for 2009/10 and future Goals are:
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Increase training area size |
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Increase services to member athletes |
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Increase promotion, community exposure, sponsorship
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Membership, participation and results at all major events |
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Budokan-sponsored events |
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Increase participation of training to other elite athletes |
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Greater affiliation with State and National Bodies |
In 2009: National Coaches - Rob & Kerrye Katz NSW NCAS Coordinator- Kerrye Katz 2009 NSW Junior State Coach - Kerrye Katz National Kata Judge – Dale Keogh Director World Masters Judo Association - Dale Keogh NSW Competition Volunteer Coordinator and JFA Inc Volunteer of the Year for NSW (2008-9) - Patrick Waite 2009 NSW State Team Managers - Kirsten McDougall / Karen Leake National Team members: 2009 Junior World Championships, Junior Pacific Rim, and World University Games NTID: 1 athlete selected each year since 2007 9 athletes attended NSW selection camp, 3 athletes selected to AIS selection camp, 1 athlete selected on NTID, 1 reserve
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Rob Katz Kerrye Katz
Coaching Coordinator Coaching Coordinator
President, Budokan Judo Club Inc. Budokan Judo Club Inc.