2010

Achievements and Awards Report 2010

2010 NSW Junior Development Club of the Year

A Club of Excellence

  

Just over a year ago, the National body convened a “Grassroots National Development” forum in conjunction with the ASC. In last year’s annual report I stated that I took away a number of personal goals from the forum, to:

  • help take Budokan to the next “level”, but incrementally so, acknowledging the limitations of key stakeholders. Coach development is critical to be able to support an increase in membership and potentially 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. In progress: Mentoring coaches to increase athlete support.
  • 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 a commitment to complete the NSW Sporting Code, to support major competitions as Sports Commission representatives (Kerrye taking on the Sports Commission role at NSW Open), to continue to act in State Coaches (Kerrye as State Junior Coach and Rob picking up an assistant State Coaching role this year), Assistant Manager (Kirsten) and Volunteer Coordinator roles (Patrick), State Kata Instructor (Dale), NCAS Coordinator (Kerrye), and ultimately to have Budokan representation on the NSW Board of Management. This year Kerrye was also successful in her application for State NTID Coordinator.
  • 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 but this wasn’t taken up (and a year later it still isn’t developed), and we have recently been accepted back onto the pool of National Coaches aiming for international Cadet and Junior Men/Women events.
  • learn lessons from successful martial arts “businesses” and professional coaches of local and overseas Judo clubs and use some of their strategies to stimulate the club and its membership.

 

So we have and continue to actively focus on these areas, looking at the club from both an internal and an external perspective. The objective is to provide guidance to the coaches, the committee and all our club’s terrific volunteers to take the club 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, our athletes.

We had a number of highlights this year, culminating in being nominated for, and winning numerous awards at the inaugural Judo NSW Annual Awards Night. The attached document was used as a basis for Budokan’s nomination for numerous awards, both individual and club based and demonstrates just how much the club and its athletes have achieved. Please take some time to review it.

Key areas against which to acknowledge our achievement and within which to consider further development are as follows:

 Facilities:

  • Venue: The Budokan mat area is currently 198m² on a sprung floor. The extension which we arranged since last year’s AGM was installed successfully. The obstruction across part of the front entranceway has not seemed to cause a problem. Thanks to Don and Sean for coordinating the installation. The kitchen renovation has also added enormous value and benefit to the club and Guido’s efforts to source and install it as well as Richard’s plumbing skills are most appreciated. Thanks also to Melissa and all those who assisted with these projects.
  • 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. Rob and Kerrye now provide strength and conditioning programs for 9 of Budokan’s elite athletes. This time and service is donated.
  • Cross Training:  The Dojo is shared with Makotokan Aikido Club and Machado Brazilian Ju Jitsu Club, and the financial benefits and better utilisation of the dojo as well as the opportunity for members of all 3 clubs to cross-train is a win-win for all.
  • Club Participation:  Whilst we had no international visitors this year, the Club’s profile was raised again as we alternated venues with Uni of NSW for preparatory training pre-Oceania Championships.  We also had a very enjoyable recent club visit to up and coming club Yuukan Judo Club on the NSW south coast.

 

Athlete Sponsorships / Selections / Support:

  • National talent Identification and Development (NTID) Squad:Past NTID representatives from the club are: Nik Zellner (2007), Jake Young with reserves Nik Zellner and Kevin Da Silva (2008), Kevin with reserve Shaun McDougall (2009). This year, for the first time, we have two representatives in Nathan Katz (ranked #4) and Jake Young (ranked #6) in the 20-strong National Squad with reserve Vanessa Hall (ranked #22) 
  • 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 2010, 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 increased from $5165 in 2009 to $5800 this year.
  • Annual Awards Night:  On the 30th November, we will celebrate our 10th club annual awards night. This night is a real celebration of the club and its members and it epitomises the basis of our philosophy. By encouraging and acknowledging our athletes, our participation builds, which in turn builds depth and progress, which in turn improves on overall results. This year, to commemorate the sad passing of one of our club family members, John Sandri, we have renamed the Spirit Award, the “John Sandri Spirit Award”.

 

Competition Participation & Performance – 2009 – 2010 comparison:

  • ACT Open:  19 athletes in 22 divisions with the following results: Gold x 4; Silver x 5, Bronze x 8, 5th x 3 compared to 2009 with 17 athletes in 21 divisions with: Gold x 4; Silver x 3, Bronze x 4, 4th x 1, 5th x 4
  • Queensland Open:  17 athletes in 20 divisions with: Gold x 5; Silver x 6, Bronze x 3, 5th x 2 compared to 2009 with 17 athletes in 24 divisions with: Gold x 5; Silver x 6, Bronze x 4, 4th x 1, 5th x 2
  • NSW Open:17 athletes in 22 divisions with: Gold x 4; Silver x 7, Bronze x 4, 5th x 5 compared to 2009 with 19 athletes in 28 divisions: Gold x 8, Silver x 6, Bronze x 4, 4th x 3 and 5th x 2
  • Nationals:  With the introduction this year for the first time of 14s (in lieu of U/13) and Cadets (in lieu of U/16), 19 athletes competed in 25 divisions with the following results: Gold x 5; Silver x 3, Bronze x 7, 5th x 3 compared to 2009 with 19 athletes in 24 divisions with 1 Gold, 4 Silver, and 6 Bronze medals, and 6 x 5th places. This was a great result for the club especially considering 14s could not compete in Cadet divisions.
  • Auckland (NZ) Open: Budokan competed in this event for the first time. We took 4 athletes who competed in 6 divisions with the following results: Gold x 1, Silver x 2, Bronze x 2. The event has the potential to be a good addition to the Budokan calendar although the timing early in the year could conflict with Oceania.
  • Oceania Continental Judo Union Championships: Budokan had a fine contingent of 6 athletes and 1 reserve participating in the OJU Championships. This year, as the competition was held in Canberra, a terrific representation of club supporters attended to cheer on our athletes. Results were Gold x 1 (Nathan Katz – Cadets), Silver x 3 (Nathan Katz and Jake Young – Junior Men and Vanessa Hall – Junior Women), with Jess Klajman (uncontested in Cadets, so elected to play Junior Women), and Hamish McDougall (Cadets) and Shaun McDougall (Junior Men) unplaced. Patrick Waite was reserve in Senior Men.
  • Junior World Championship Competitions (Morocco, Africa). Budokan athletes Nathan Katz, Jake Young and Shaun McDougall were selected to represent Australia at the 2010 Junior (U/20) World Championships but for various reasons, elected not to participate. This augurs well for the future potential for our athletes to be selected for Cadet and Junior OJU, Pacific Rim and World Championships in 2011 and beyond.
  • NSW State Teams Competition.  With the introduction of new age categories, the weight divisions selected for this event did not suit the composition of the club’s athletes and we elected not to participate in this event for the first time. This was disappointing considering the participation by Budokan of 10 teams last year.
  • Senior Kyu (Coloured Belt) Grade development: Budokan seniors participated in the Kyu (coloured belts) grades and also the All Grades events with a number of seniors competing for the first time.  
  • Budokan MONSters Competition.  On the 8th August, we hosted our ninth 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) and this year for the first time we introduced the U/14 divisions event. We used an electronic scoring and timing system for the third year, and although the 2009 participation was disappointingly and surprisingly low at about 30, this year we had 44 U/10s and 43 U/14s from. 13 clubs.  Budokan had 16 x U/10s in 19 divisions winning 7 x Gold, 7 x Silver and 2 x Bronze, with 18 x U/14s in 25 divisions winning 11 x Gold, 5 x Silver and 5 x Bronze. 
  • NSW Judo Awards Night. Budokan had 19 very enthusiastic and anxious attendees representing 7 Budokan families (and 11 Budokan athletes) at the inaugural Judo NSW Annual Dinner and Awards Night. As previously mentioned, we were nominated across a number of award categories with the fantastic results summarised as follows.

 

Category 1 - Individual Awards

     Junior Women: Vanessa Hall (Budokan)  in the top 4

Junior Men:  Nathan Katz (Budokan) in the top 4

Jake Young (Budokan) in the top 4

Cadet Men:Won by Nathan Katz (Budokan)

Girls:            Naomi de Bruine (Budokan) in the top 4

Boys:          Won by Josh Katz (Budokan)

   

Category 2 - Coach's Awards

Senior (including U/20s):       Vanessa Hall (Budokan) nominated

         Jake Young (Budokan) nominated

Junior (14s and Cadets):       Won by Cameron Leishman (Budokan)

           

    Category 3 - The Club Awards:

Club of the Year Award:       Budokan nominated

Junior Development Club:     Won by Budokan   

 

Category 5 - Volunteer Award

Kirsten McDougall (Budokan) nominated

 

Category 6 - The Sue Williams Award

This was considered the most prestigious annual award for a NSW judoka. The winner of this award was selected from the 8 individual competitive award winners in Category 1 and was judged on the basis of the athlete that best exemplifies the core values and spirit of Judo.

Won By - Nathan Katz (Budokan)

 

Summary

All up, 13 nominations from the club and 5 outright Category wins, which is a fantastic achievement and recognition for all the club’s athletes. Congratulations to all the winners (including all of you who are part of “Budokan” in winning the club award) and also to all the athletes who were nominated and contested the categories.

 

Summary of Objectives for 2010.

 

 

Objective

Action

Increase services to member athletes
  • Update website to incorporate athlete profiles and achievements at http://www.budokan-judo-club.com/ for member information
  • Complete 2010 DVD for club athletes who represented NSW at the 2010 Nationals (as per 2008 and 2009 Nationals)

Increase promotion, community exposure, sponsorship

 

 

 

 

 
  • Update website to indicate benefits for sponsors and promote all sponsors
  • Maintain affiliation with Local Newspaper (Hills Shire Times)
  • Maintain contact with Radio interviews (2CCR FM90.5)
  • Complete Club Profile document for approach to corporate sponsors, commencing with Castle Hill RSL Club, Parramatta Leagues Club, and Komatsu
  • Increase awareness of available scholarships/grants and apply
  • Increase awareness of recognition schemes/awards and apply
  • We have also encouraged our elite athletes to apply for local community awards and this also increases the profile of Judo as well as Budokan.
  • Mel Rudgley kindly arranged and donated large banners which have been placed strategically around the community. She has also designed pamphlets available for letter-box drops and handouts.

Membership, participation and results at all major events
  • In 2009 our membership was at 96 members: 63 juniors and 33 seniors. 2010 numbers are similar with 3 less juniors at this time of year. 2010 saw an increase in beginner seniors and a drop in U/10s numbers. Two areas provide growth to the club: member retention and new membership.
    • We will look at strategies to better support all athletes including mentoring of younger athletes by older more experienced athletes.
    • For new membership, we will target schools by regular advertising.  Kathy Dundas has kindly offered to sponsor this and arrange advertising with a number of schools.
    • We will also expand the current coverage of results that we enjoy in the Hills Shire Times by profiling the benefits of Judo to attract interest.
  • 19 athletes competed in 25 divisions at the 2010 Nationals, 1 more division than in 2009, which represents growth considering U/14s could not play in Cadets). They achieved the following medals: 5 Gold, 3 Silver, 7 Bronze plus, 3 x 5th places compared to 1 Gold, 4 Silver, 6 Bronze plus, 6 x 5th, a significant improvement in 12 months. We also increased our National Squad (NTID) and National Team selection numbers this year.
  • Details of results in other major Opens are in the attached Club Profile and indicate consistent participation and results.

Budokan-sponsored events
  • Budokan is one of only two clubs in NSW that have hosted the NSW U/10s MONSter League Competition every year since its inception in 2002. In 2010, we added another age category to this event, which was a great success. Unlikely that we will add another competition to the very full Judo calendar in 2011.

Greater affiliation with State and National Bodies
  • Increased from 2009 with the following:

National Coaches - Rob & Kerrye Katz appointed 2010

NSW NCAS Coordinator- Kerrye Katz continues

NSW Junior State Coach - Kerrye Katz. Rob picked up the Assistant Coach appointment

BBR Kata Instructor and National Kata Judge – Dale Keogh continues

Director World Masters Judo Association - Dale Keogh (until IJF disbanded this in Jan 10 and created “IJF Grand Masters Commission”)

NSW Competition Volunteer Coordinator - Patrick Waite continues

NSW State Team Managers - Kirsten McDougall continues

National Team members: 2010 Oceania Union Championships and Junior World Championships. Dale Keogh also continues to represent at international Masters events in Kata and Shiai.

NTID: 2 athletes selected and 1 reserve

  • Aiming for NSW Judo Board membership from the club
  • Aiming for National Commission membership from the club

 

  

In conclusion, we wish Sean a quick recovery from his recent operation. We thank most sincerely our strong and supportive Committee, our coaches for their skill, heart and commitment, the positive and united parents who comprise our “travelling circus”, and the amazing group of athletes who we have the pleasure of coaching and whose growth and maturity we can see blooming week after week.

 

 

 

Rob Katz                                              Kerrye Katz                                                     

Coaching Coordinator                            Coaching Coordinator

President, Budokan Judo Club Inc.         Budokan Judo Club Inc.            22nd November 2010