About Us
Croydon Judo Club (British Judo Association club (No. 0116) is one of the oldest in the United Kingdom, and we celebrated our 70th anniversary in 2021.
Everyone at the club strives to provide opportunities for players to receive coaching in all aspects of the sport and to attend regular gradings and competitions if they wish. All training is undertaken by fully qualified coaches, who are first-aid and safeguarding trained, and have been appropriately CRB checked.
The Objectives of the Club are:
To foster, encourage and develop the sport of Judo at all levels, providing equal opportunities for participation, recreation, and competition.
To operate in accordance with British Judo Association policy
Equity
The Club is committed to ensuring that equity is incorporated in all aspects of its development, and in doing so it acknowledges and adopts the Sport England definition of sports equity. This involves remaining vigilant and adapting the structure of the sport to ensure fairness and equal access, whilst recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them.
The Club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person, and is committed to ensuring that everyone has the right to enjoy the sport, free from the threat of intimidation, harassment and abuse.
Our History
Established in 1951, and originally known as Croydon and District Judo Society, Croydon Judo Club (CJC) has been in several venues over the years, including a billiard hall in Wickham Road and The Gun Tavern, Church Street. The brave and intrepid judoka used old mattresses back then, as proper judo mats (tatami) were unavailable. Later, when we moved to a dojo on Wellesley Road, straw tatami were imported.
One of the individuals responsible for establishing Judo as a sport in the United Kingdom, Mr. Gunji Koizumi, was a founder of the Budokwai Judo Club, Chelsea, London. Mr. George Edwards, the first chairman of CJC, was also a member of the Budokwai, and it was at his request that on April 3rd 1952, Koizumi, then National Judo Coach, held the first of many gradings at the club.
From the mid-50's the Club trained at 91 Wellesley Road, a property owned by Judo Ltd., who published the magazine' Judo' from this address. It continued to flourish, becoming a favourite haunt of the National players of the time. CJC joined with other clubs to form the early organisation of judo associations around the country.
Croydon Council exercised a compulsory purchase order on 91 Wellesley Road in 1972, obtaining the building from Judo Ltd., as part of a road widening scheme. Mats were retrieved and the Club went into a series of temporary accommodation. First based in Heath Clark School, then into rooms at the Purley Way Open-Air Swimming Pool, until the pool closed permanently in 1980. The club located back to Heath Clark School and remained there until 1983, when the school closed. Lanfranc High School became our new home until we moved to a more appropriate venue, The Tavistock Centre, 10 Tavistock Road, in 1985. The closure of this site in 1999 meant another move, this time to a disused cafe/bar In Katherine Street, Croydon. However, this was only whilst building work was being undertaken for our current venue on Morland Avenue. Our move here was completed in December 2005, and our agreement with Croydon Council means that this facility will be our home until at least 2037.
So, a somewhat nomadic past! However, the quality of player and standard of judo coaching and training has always remained at the highest standard, and we are extremely proud of our heritage, whilst we continue to look to future development.
Taking an active part in all areas of the sport over the years Croydon players have enjoyed recreational judo, and others have competed at County, Area, National, International and Olympic level. Equally, some members have become competition officials to the same exacting standard in refereeing, competition administration and examining.