New British judo center of excellence opened

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/judo-new-centre-excellence-signals-bright-future-british-154452265--spt.html

[url= http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/11/13/olympic-champion-denise-opens-1million-walsall-judo-centre/]http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/11/13/olympic-champion-denise-opens-1million-walsall-judo-centre/[/url]

[url= http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/judo/1016930-centre-of-excellence-among-the-best-in-europe-unveiled-by-british-judo]http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/judo/1016930-centre-of-excellence-among-the-best-in-europe-unveiled-by-british-judo[/url]


To bad they also equipped it with those ugly yellow and blue tatami that give you a head ache. I noted that some Olympic judo training centers in Europe (for example, Italy) acquired those too a couple of years ago but decided to ditch them and replace them again by less flashy and disturbing colors. Japanese dôjô that have decided to use dynamic border tatami also have shooed away from the ugly blue/yellow and have placed the at least somewhat milder looking green/yellow. In my experience, the most acceptable new configuration keeps classic green or grey in the middle bordered by the new Japanese green.

http://www.makearchitects.com/projects/dartford-dojo/

There is also a judo center of excellence in Dartford which opened in 2006. A friend of mine worked on this as an architect.

What is happening to that (Dartford) now?

I saw on Facebook that all the BJA (as opposed to Dartford Judo Club) equipment is being moved to Walsall. They had a semi permanent gym in a tent at Dartford, and a temporary building holding coaches offices, physio/doctor rooms and a rest area. It seems all the coaching staff that were based at Dartford will also now move to Walsall.

Those are both stunning dojos, regardless of the colors of the mats....only in my dreams.

Best of all there is an open invitation for british judoka...

Every Tuesday - 19:30-21:30 - National Randori at the British Judo Centre of Excellence - University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus
The Great Britain National Randori sessions take place every Tuesday evening at British Judo's Centre of Excellence.
All senior squad players who live within a two hour radius are expected to attend National Randori sessions that will run weekly from the launch.
This open randori session is available to all junior and senior players who feel they are at a level to attend (14 and above). Sessions take place every Tuesday and begin at 19:30 and run until 21:30.

"are expected to attend" - doesn't sound like an invitation

I like Denise Lewis and admire her achievements, but surely they could have found prominent Senior UK judoka to open the centre. Perhaps a UK 10 dan who has actually coached a multiple World and Olympic champion.

JudoMum wrote:"are expected to attend" - doesn't sound like an invitation

If you read it again, you may note it states "senior squad players" within a 2 hour radius are expected to attend...

It also states it is open to all junior and senior players who feel they are at a level to attend.