British Judo goes back to school

A milestone 500 schools are now linked to local judo clubs thanks to a pioneering campaign from the British Judo Association (BJA).

The School 2 Dojo programme makes it easier and more rewarding for children and young people to take up judo by forging strong relationships with local schools. Pupils are then introduced to a range of coaching, competition and volunteering opportunities through an environment they are comfortable with and belong to. This structured approach can be more effective in sustaining participation than one-off taster sessions.

“Ultimately we want to introduce more children to judo, develop their interest and see them take up the sport at a local club,” says Daniel Griffin, the BJA’s children and young people development manager. “The quality of our links is vitally important and by maintaining them we can continue to develop the accessibility of the sport.”

SKK Judo Club in Merseyside is just one of the 137 clubs taking part. The club doesn’t just rely on bringing young people into its purpose-built facility but also sends it coaches out into local schools and the community. Their model sees the main club supported by several, smaller accredited clubs where people can go in and test the club environment.

Schools taking part in the programme are rewarded with graded certificates – yellow, blue and black. Yellow recognises the initial link and blue rewards schools who introduced volunteers to the programme and supported local clubs. To receive black, schools must use their internal contacts and communications to attract more volunteers, recruit more participants and encouraged more pupils to have a go.

“Black does take a long time to achieve but once you have it you have a good structure and opportunity for competitions which lets children test their ability,” Griffin says

School 2 Dojo is part of BJA’s contribution to the Government’s PE and Sport Strategy (PESSYP) which seeks to give school children access to five hours of sport a week through a combination of community and curriculum activity.

“If we want children and young people to keep playing sport after they leave school, it is essential we help them get involved with local sports clubs from an early age,” said Mike Diaper, Sport England’s Director of Children and Young People. ”This is why building strong links between schools and clubs is an important part of our strategy.”

Sport England is investing £4.1m into the 34 sports to deliver an extra half million junior club participants or volunteers by 2012-2013.

To find out more about Club Links, visit the Club Links section of our website

You can find out more about School 2 Dojo on British Judo's website

To find out more about SKK Judo Club, visit their website