At Budokan, we are always looking at ways to improve the effective delivery of Judo skills and experiences to our club’s athletes. Initiatives such as the:
- introduction of the Monday Senior Beginner and Kyu grade class,
- creation of the pre-school pre-Judo “Dinos” class,
- splitting of the Senior and Junior competition-level technique sessions on Saturday, and
- Seniors participating in the last 30 minutes of randori for the Tuesday/Thursday Junior classes,
are just some examples of this.
- Participation during our Tuesday and Thursday Junior classes comprising U/11, U/13 and U/15 athletes from beginner level to National Champion, have been substantial, sometimes with over 50 children. This is a “great problem” for us to have to address, but it does pose issues for us. Despite the large number of supporting coaches, it is clear that we can deliver a better service by splitting the group into 2 classes, based on experience levels.
- One class would be for higher skilled competition-level judoka, the “Competitive-Level Junior” class, and the other class will be for less experienced, less skilled Judoka including all beginners, the “Fundamental-Level Junior” class.
- A limiting factor in taking this initiative is to find appropriately skilled coaches who also have the time and desire to take on a new responsibility. All going well, hopefully at the beginning of Term 3 (22nd July), we will be able to introduce a “Fundamental Junior Class” from 5.00-6.00pm on Thursdays, which over time will ideally expand to Tuesdays.
From that time, the 6.00-7.30pm classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays will only be for “Competitive-Level Juniors”. This may be an inconvenience for some parents whose children currently participate in the 6.00-7.30pm Junior class but is unavoidable. Kerrye and Rob will be responsible for determining the athletes who will move across from the 6.00-7.30pm class to the 5.00-6.00pm class and also when they will move back to the “Competitive Junior” classes. All beginners will only participate in the new “Fundamental Junior Class”.