New Coaches, 7^th Dec – The club would like to welcome four more newly qualified coaches to the club. Congratulations to following people on gaining the BJA instructors award namely: Steve Howe, Holly Laws, Jordan Beck and Andy Cheshire. This takes the number of qualified coaches within the club to 13. A big well done to the aforementioned people from everyone in the club and we look forward to your input in the coming years.

New Dan Grade 6^th Dec – The club would like to congratulate the club’s latest Dan grade. Tom Simpson successfully fought for his black belt at the BJA Northern area gradings. However, it did not come cheaply as Tom dislocated his little finger in the process of this achievement but overcame the pain to succeed – Well-done Tom from everyone in the club

Kenka Open Judo Championships, 21st Nov, (Edinburgh, Scotland) – The club again took to the high roads (Well not as far as Aberdeen this time) with a good size squad of members and returned with 21 podium places. The club took six gold’s, 13 silvers and 2 bronze medals from a competitive event. The gold medallists were as follows: Stephanie Rodden, James Arkless, Dominique McEwan, (Her first medal for the club) Lee Storey, Craig McKenna and Megan Henderson. The silver medallists were: Ben Chandler, Callum Keane, Brendan Miller, Libby Arkless, Connor Eaton, Courtney Shoulder, Daniel Laws, San Henderson, Dillon Shoulder, Jade Hamilton, Caitlin McEwan, Matthew Ligget and Steve Lowis (Caitlin, Mathew and Steve all recorded their first medal for the club), while the bronze medals were taking by Jack Curry and Holly Laws. A huge well done to all those that competed at the event and to those who just missed out on the medals.

New Coaches, (9th Nov) – The club would like to welcome and congratulate five of the senior members who have successfully completed and qualified as level one coaches. Congratulations go to Mark Osbourne, Steve Welsh, Tom Simpson, Lee Storey and Joleen Ross. Welcome aboard the good ship Newburn and we hope this is the start of your development as top judo coaches. This takes the coaching quota for the club to 9 qualified coaches – well done guys!

Spennymoor Mini Mons, Durham (8th Nov) – The club attended this local event with some of its younger and less experienced judoka. The kids did not disappoint the watching supporters with great return of five gold’s, four silvers and eight bronzes. Added to this the club took the team trophy. The gold medallists were: Brandon Jarvis, Lewis Thirwell, Alex Fanshaw, Libby Arkless and Jessica Phillips. The silver medallists were: Ben Chandler, Jasmyne Wilkinson, Kasey Gibson and Alex Dodds. The bronze medallists were: Alex Mangan, Gabriel Wigham, Cameron Roth, Cameron McKiness, Brendon Miller, Amy Law, Jemima Lawler and finally Arabella Lawler. Huge congratulations to this group as their gold medals at this event have broken the club record of last year taking the club total to 112 gold medals for 2009. Big thanks to Fidge (Former Newburn Coach) and Spennymoor Judo Club for putting on the event and the hospitality. 

Granite City Championships, Aberdeen, Scotland (7th Nov) – The club took to the high roads of Scotland for this good quality event and returned with two gold’s a silver and a bronze. Congratulations on their gold medals go to Courtney and Stephanie, while Lee took silver with Dillon taking the bronze. Also well done to Connor, Jack and James on winning fights but just missing out on the medals. Lee’s silver takes him into first place on the medal table with Jordan still in close proximity.

Premier League 4 Sports Official Launch, (24th Oct) - The club took part in the official  launch of the programme at Newcastle United's Academy training ground. The project has already started in Sacred Heart, Thomas Moor and Walbottle High Schools. with over 60 people attending sessions in these schools which we are delighted with and the schools have shown great support for the project. The official launch of the program was attended by local children, members of the club who had the great pleasure in meeting some of the players from the NUFC, (Steven Taylor and Shola Ameobi) and current Olympian Sarah Clark and former Olympian Chloe Cowan. Sarah Clark said: “The programme is a fantastic way of promoting judo. I think allowing kids to get involved in it and with the football clubs promoting it like this, it works well. I think with the 20 Premier League Clubs involved, we will have real backing from the clubs for these sports and kids will get the chance to try judo which is a fantastic sport for kids to do. This promoted in each Area, and attracting press it will help spread the word for judo”. The event went extremely well and was deemed a great success by all. Click the link to see more pics

Scottish Open, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow - (17th/18th Oct) - The club had only two representatives at this high quality event but still managed to return with two very credible bronze medals. Lee Storey and Jordan Beck both performed exceptionally well and demonstrated some excellent judo but just missed out on the finals. The competition between Lee and Jordan in this years medals table is really hotting up with Lee just trailiing by 9 points

Junior World Championships, Paris Selection (16th Oct) - The club is pleased to hear that Louise Little has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Junior World Championships in Paris from the 22nd - 25th Oct. Commenting on the selected team, BJA Performance Operations Manager, Karen Roberts said, “The Junior World Championships provides a critical experience for players on the Performance Player Pathway, the selected players have demonstrated through the year they are capable of stepping up to compete at this level.”Congratulations to Louise and the very Best of British for the event from all the members of the club!!

British Junior National Championships, Sheffield (10th/11th Oct) – The club attended this national event with some of the best judoka in the country in attendance and returned with 6 national medals. Big congratulations to Megan Henderson who took the junior national title to add to her U20’s title. Well-done Megan! John McGuiness took silver in a very competitive final while Darren May, Katy Seymour, Jordan Beck and Nico Guiliani took bronze medals. Mentions also go to Steven Telfer and Holly Laws who took very credible fifth places (just missing out on a podium place despite winning 9 fights between them!!) The remaining members of the club all fought really well and were a credit to their clubs and families. Added to this, these titles raised the clubs total of national titles to 14 for 2009.

National “A” Bands, Guilford, London, (4th Oct) – While a large amount of the club were up in the North East a small group of our up and coming youngsters attended their first National Event. The club is really pleased to report that 5 of the members returned with national medals. Congratulations go to Courtney Shoulder and Holly Telfer on taking gold at this event plus congrats go to James Arkless, Connor Eaton and Molly Seymour for achieving bronze medals at the event. Special mentions go to Stephanie Rodden and George Gray on taking fifth places and great big well done to Jessica Hall on a tremendous effort on the day. The future of the club is looking bright!!!

The British Masters, Guilford, London, (3^rd Oct) – The club’s coach Craig McKenna entered this event at the weekend and we are very pleased to announce that Craig became the British Masters National Champion at the event and took the title in style by winning by ippons in all of his contests. A huge well done Craig from all within the club.

Northern Area Trials (13^th Sept) Newburn – The club was the location for the selection trials of the Northern Area for The Junior Nationals. The club did very well with 17 of the members being selected to represent the club and the area at next months Junior Nationals in Sheffield. A huge well done to the following members who took gold at the event: Katy, Jade, Joe, Steven, Sam, Daniel, Thomas, Jordan, Lee, John, Nico, Megan and Jenny. While Jack, Stacey and Holly took silver with Michael taking a bronze in a competitive category. Many thanks to the volunteers of the event and a big well done to all those that were selected to attend the nationals, from throughout the area.

Best of British -Big congratulations to Louise Little on being selected  to represent  Great Britain at the 2009 Junior European Judo Championships in Yerevan, Armenia, from the 11th - 13th September. Best of Luck in the event from all the members of the club Louise.

UK School Games, Bath and Bristol, (5^th–7^th Sept) – The club had two of its members selected to represent England in the UK School Games, which included various sports with representatives from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Megan Henderson and Jordan Beck competed for England and were rewarded with two bronze medals – Well done ladies we are all very proud of you!!!  

Newcastle United Foundation – 29^th August – The club was recently invited to attend the first year celebration of the Newcastle United Foundation. The foundation is a registered charity that aims to use the local passion for football to encourage learning and promote healthy lifestyles that will make a real difference to the lives of children, young people and families in our region. A number of the members were invited to give a judo demonstration in the Magpie Suite at St James on match day as part of the celebration. The members also took part in a Wii event in which young Stephanie Rodden beat all comers and set a cracking record on the heading game. (Just goes to prove that judo is good for your balance!)   Pic Below of Joe and the members at the event

The Lakeland Open, 22nd/23rd Aug - (Kendal, Cumbria)  – The club attended this high quality event which was also broadcast live via the internet for the first time and returned with a highly respectable five medal return. The club took a gold, silver and three bronzes from a team of seven. The medal winners were: Jordan Beck took a gold, while Lee Storey took the silver. (It’s neck and neck between Jordan and Lee in the medals table with only three points separating them!) While three of the members took bronze medals: namely  Joe, Michael and Jade well done guys on your efforts over the weekend.

Scottish Open, 26th July (Dumfries, Scotland) – The club took to the borders with a good-sized squad and returned with an impressive 16 gold, 7 silver and seven bronze medals. The gold medallists were: Libby, Courtney, Stephanie, Jasmyne, Alex, Dillon, Daniel, Kieron Henderson, Tommy, Michael, Jade Hamilton, (Jade represented the club for the first time and took TWO gold medals in the U45’s and U50’s – Welcome to the club Jade!) Holly L, Megan Henderson, James Alderdice and the club coach Craig McKenna. The silver medal takers were: George, Jack, James Arkless, Caroline Brayson, Megan Douglas, Jessica Phillips and Lee Storey, who performed the throw of day according to the coaching staff. The final medal takers were: Jessica Hall, Ben, Connor, Kieron, Tommy, Michael Douglas and John. A big well done to all the guys who took part in the event and a huge thank you to the organizers of the event  

Sports Relief Showcase – 25th July (The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff) - The club had the great honour of being invited to showcase the work that has taken place via the its inclusion and engagement judo programme which was funded by Sports Relief. The event took place at The Welsh National Stadium with a wide range of sports and activities from Dance to Basketball. Joe along with four members (Lee, Holly, Megan and John) of the club did a demonstration of judo, which included participation from visitors to the event. The event went really well and was enjoyed by all those that took part.

Wax on – Wax Off!!! (21^st July) – Four of the club’s – lets not mince our words  - hairier gentlemen decided to raise some funds for the club in a rite of passage exercise to manhood with a chest waxing. The guys, Rob Arkless (chair), Judo Joe, Craig McKenna (coach) and Keith Shoulder (all round good egg!) took to the local salon with reckless abandonment for the good cause of the club in their sights. Below are some of the pics from the event. The event was videoed and will soon be Youtubed so keep an eye out for that – Joe told us that Keith screamed the place down!!! Anyway congratulations go to the guys as they raised close to £600.

National Teams Event 18^th July (Sutton High Sports Centre, St. Helens) –The club was honoured to have six members selected to represent the Northern Area at this national event. The members selected were: Louise Little, Lee Storey, John McGuiness, Jordan Beck, Megan Henderson and Kieron Henderson. The area girl’s teams took a national bronze. Unfortunately, the boys just missed out but gained a great experience and won fights. Congratulations to all those that took part and represented the Northern Area.

Sport Relief Funding - 13th July - The club recently was awarded a grant to introduce judo and encourage participation into judo from societies hard to reach groups. The work has been carried out by a number of the older members whom had an input into how this could be achieved. The results of this work are now starting to bear fruit with a number of new members joining the club from the resulting taster sessions. Below is a pic of three of our newest members whom took trophies at the recent Fordley event.

Kent International, Crystal Palace, London (27th/28th June)- The club attended this high quality international event in London in the sweltering Crystal Palace and returned with 4 silver and six bronze podium places. The silver medallists were: Jack Curry, Dillon Shoulder, Nico and Lee Storey (Joe stated Lee fought really well!). The bronze medallists were: Courtney Shoulder, Daniel Laws, Megan, Holly L, Jordan and Louise. Added to this Holly T gained a respectable 5th place while the remaining squad members won fights and represented the club well!

Fordley Beginners, Blyth (14^th Jun) - The club attended this local event with a number of our new and less experienced judoka at this event designed especially for those new to judo events. The members performed really well and returned with an impressive 14 gold’s, 11 silver and 7 bronze medals. The gold medallists were: Megan Douglas, Sarah Summerson, Liam Merrilees, Jessica Phillips, Stephanie Rodden, Kasie Gibson, Lara Massengo, Lewis Thirwell, Connor Eaton, James Alderdice, Cameron Rolf, Siena Rolf, Jessica Hall and Tommy Walsh (Not the Ground Force one!). The Silvers were taken by: Libby Arkless, Ben Chandler, Callum Keane, Stephanie Rodden, Kasie Gibson, Alexander Famshawe, Jessica Hall, Aaron Carden, Alicia Carden, Hajiratou and Zalicatou Ouattra. The bronze medals were taken by:  Sophie Chapman, Alex Bell, Brandon Jarvis, Amy Law, Jasmyn Wilkinson, Cameron McKiness and Bachirou Ouattra. The club would like to thank the members of Fordley Judo Club for organising the event who also paid tribute to the club by stating our members were excellent throughout the day.

Goole Senior and Youth Event (14^th June) – Two senior members made the trip down to Goole and were rewarded with 4 medals. Lee Storey and Jordan Beck returned with a gold, two silver and bronze for their efforts, Lee took a gold in the junior event and then went on to take a highly respectable silver in the senior section, while Jordan took silver in the youth section and a bronze in the senior section. Well-done guys!!

Highland Open, Fort William, Scotland (24th May) – The club took to the high roads of Scotland for this event with a small squad of 10 and returned with an impressive haul of 11 medals. The members took seven gold’s, silver and three bronze medals. The gold medallists were: James, Dillon, Holly L, John, Jordan and Megan (Who took two). Courtney Shoulder took silver while Jennifer, Lee and Daniel gained bronze. Special mention to Megan who took gold in the U52kg junior section then moved into the senior section where she took gold in the U57kg category.  Pic of the Newburn Posse after the boarder raid to Scotland!!

Judo In The Toon! (14th May) - The club has the greatest pleasure in announcing that it will be launching a four-year Judo in schools programme in association with premier league football club Newcastle United and The British Judo Association. The programme will be aimed at providing four after school judo clubs at Walbottle High School, Sir Thomas More, All Saints School and Excelsior Academy. The club will provide coaches over the period while funding will be made available for mats, suits and licences. Newcastle United will support the programme by offering opportunities and incentives to meet the team members, visiting St James’s Park and the training ground tours plus game day match tickets. This is a fantastic achievement for the club and a really positive outcome for the promotion of judo at grass roots level and the club is honoured to be a partner in such a postive programme. 

The Parks Judo Championships, North Shields (9^th May) – The club entered a squad of 18 players into this local event and returned with a highly respectable 15 medals in total. The club took 7 gold medals, 3 silvers and 5 bronzes at the event. The gold medallists were: Courtney, Molly, Katy Seymour, Holly T, George, Alex Dodds and Sean. The silvers were taken by: James, Adil and Steven while the bronze medals were taken by: Stephanie, Jennifer, Jack, Dillon and Patrick. Special thanks to the Parks Judo Club and its volunteers for putting on the event!

Newburn Club Show (2^nd May) – The club held its annual showcase for parents and families to come along and sample a judo event and the club in a supportive and enthusiastic atmosphere. Sixty-four of our less experienced and novice club members took to two mat areas to contest in front of 200 plus family members. All the members had two fights each and all were awarded medals for competing. Big thanks to Colin Wright and Jordan Beck for refereeing at the event and all those that volunteered to organise refreshments etc. A special mention goes to Louis Merrilees whom was awarded a special trophy from Judo Joe as he is recovering with a nasty broken arm from a recent bike accident. Get well soon from the entire club

Millom Championships, Cumbria (26^th Apr) – The club took to the west of the country for this annual event with a squad of 22 and returned with an impressive 23 medals. A huge well done to all those that took part as their medal haul did not include a single bronze!!  The total of 16 gold’s and seven silvers was an excellent achievement on the day of the event. The gold medallists were: George, Courtney, James, Jack, Molly, Katie Shaw, Holly T, Daniel, Robbie, Steven, Lee, Sean, Holly L, Jordan, Holly F and Chloe F. The silver medallists were: Anna Harding, Adil, Dillon, Stephanie, Holly T, Katy Seymour and Patrick Tucker. A special mention goes to Holly Telfer who took a gold and silver on the day.

British Schools, Sheffield (28^th Mar) – Four of the club’s members attended this event and returned with national medals - 2 gold’s and two silvers. Congratulations to Michael Wilkinson and Steven Telfer on taking gold in their category and also congrats to Lee and Holly L on gaining national honours. Great Birthday present for Judo Joe as he now officially believes he has to have two birthdays a year after last weekend!! 

Sport Newcastle Awards Ceremony, Civic Centre, Newcastle, (9^th Mar) – Two of the club’s members attended this annual celebration of sporting achievement within the North East. Local sports celebrities and dignities from around the region attended the event sponsored by the Newcastle Evening Chronicle. John McGuiness and Megan Henderson received their rising star awards in front of a packed house for their achievements in judo in 2008. Furthermore, the club received a huge honour when it was announced that Joe Laws was named as Coach of the Year and received the Stan Calvert trophy in recognition of his work over the last 21 years at Newburn. (It was the first time ever Joe was stuck for words!!). The sports personality went to Fabulous “Fab” Flournoy of the Newcastle Eagles, Team of the Year went to Durham County Cricket Club and the community team of the year were the Newcastle Vipers. Well done to all from all the members of the club!

Pics Below of Joe, Megan and John

North West Aged Banded, St Helens (21^st/22^nd Feb) – The club attended this high quality ranking event with a mix of experienced and not so experienced players and returned with a highly respectable four silvers and three 5^th places. The silvers were taken by: Molly, Adil, Nico and Jordan while Lee, John and Daniel took fifth places. While the remaining members of the squad won fights and gained huge experience of the event and the level

International Visitors (19^th Feb) – The club would like to extend a warm North East of England welcome to our club to two visitors from Japan. Hidehito Tsuji and Yuji Hashimoto, who are working in the North East, have taking up the opportunity to continue their national sport of judo at Newburn. Welcome guys and we hope you have a great time.

Double Newcastle Rising Stars Award (18^th Feb) – The club is hugely proud to announce that two of its members will be recognised and receive awards from Sport Newcastle for their achievements in judo. John McGuiness and Megan Henderson will attend the prestigious event in March to receive their awards in front of sporting heroes, local dignitaries and their families. Well-done guys from everyone in the club.

Cumbria Cup Teams Event, Carlisle (8th Feb) – The club entered this seniors team event at short notice with two teams and a man short in each team but nevertheless had a fantastic day. Although not successful in the medal stakes good performances were giving by Arnold Nzobadia and Patrick Tucker who both won four fights each. Arnold also won the Spirit of Judo award for his performance and the club would also like to thank Steve Giles for putting on the event, which had a great atmosphere.

Invite to EDT Coach Program (5th Feb)  - The club is pleased to announce that coach Joe Laws has been invited to attend the England Talent Development Coach Program this year. The program aims to increase the quality of communication and understanding between club coaches and national coaches regarding talented players. It will achieve this by club coaches attending national squad training sessions and the sharing of ideas and experiences.

Midland Open, Walsall, Birmingham. (31^st Jan / 1^st Feb) – The club attended this point scoring event in the Midlands with a small squad and returned with 2 gold’s and three silvers and two fifth places. The gold’s were taking by Stacey and Megan; the silvers were taking by Jordan and Nico (Jordan won in separate weight categories) while John and Holly took the fifth places. Also better luck next time to Lee and Michael who both performed very well but were in really competitive categories.

Inclusion and Equality Through Judo Programme - 27th Jan –The club has just began a new programme within three local schools: Walbottle High School, All Saints and Excelsior Academy reaching about 5000 young people from the area. The programme was inspired by some of our young club members to address opportunities for young people to participate in sport who are normally excluded either due to social, cultural or ethnic backgrounds. The first couple of sessions have already taking place and it has been met with a great deal of interest and appreciation.

Portuguese Men of War – 26th Jan – The club played host and welcomed four visiting judoka from Madeira, Portugal. The four members were from the Naval Funchal club who took up the opportunity to attend the BJA North West Seniors event and returned with 3 very respectable 5^th place finishes. The guys joined the club on the mat for a couple of sessions and a bit of wall climbing to boot mixed in with some sightseeing of the region and Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. The club has also been invited to attend a training camp and the Atlantic Cup in Portugal in September. Pic below of Carlos, Thus, Jose and Joao

British Judo Under 20’s Trials, Sheffield - 10th Jan  - The club attended this high quality event and the first of 2009 and returned with two national champions. Congratulations go to Louise Little and Megan Henderson who were both on top form to come away with gold from this prestigious event. Well done to the remaining members of the team who did not come away medals but won fights and added to their judo experience .Pic of Megan and Louise with their British Trials Under 20's Gold Medals

Club Announcement 7th Jan –The club is announcing, after a coaching review, from February the club will be implementing a new training structure. The structure will involve four key stages based on ability and progression. The club will be implementing these new training structures in February with training times as follows:

NB: The boys only and girls only sessions will from February will no longer be on. For members further information on what session to attend please contact Joe