Grangemouth, Scotland (30th Mar) -The club had one member at this event who put in an excellent performance to take a gold. A big well done to Jordan Beck who won the category by winning all of her five fights. Well done Jordan!

Simon Hicks Memorial Championships (AKA British Schools) 29^th Mar (Cardiff) – The club had five of its members representing their schools at this event. They did really well and returned with a gold, 2 silvers and a bronze. The gold medal winner was Stacey while the silver medal winners were Lee and Nikki with Holly taking the bronze. Special mention to John McGuiness who reached the final but was disqualified rather controversially but had put up a tremendous show to reach the final. Better luck next time mate!

Durham Open U18’s, Spennymoor, Durham (23^rd Mar) – the club had a good sized squad to this event and returned with a healthy return of five gold’s, six silvers and 9 bronze podium places. The gold’s were taking by Adil, Megan, Molly, Katy and Robbie. The silvers were taking by Thomas, William, Haley, Holly F, Chloe and Jordan. The remaining bronze medals went to James, Daniel, Jasmine, Michael, Joe, John, Alana, Lee and Jordan. A special mention to Haley who fought in a higher category and beat blue belts to gain her silver.

GB Trials - Junior European Championships, EIS Sheffield (15^th Mar) – Two of the members took part in this event namely Megan Henderson and Jordan Beck. Megan took silver in the girls under 44kg category while Jordan took bronze in the girls over 70-kilo category. The event was designed to select for the up coming Junior European Championships event and the Dutch Cup. Megan’s performance earned her a place in the Dutch Cup to represent Great Britain. Well-done girls!

Northern Area Grading, Crowtree, Sunderland. (15^th March) – the club had a number of senior and junior members at the grading. The outcome was a good number of promotions, which included a first Dan for Thea Cowan, first Kyu for Chris Summerson and green belts for Joe, Michael, Chloe and Katy (Got it right this time Jo!). Well done to the rest of the seniors who performed really well!

Newcastle Rising Star Award, Newcastle Civic Centre (10^th Mar) – Congratulations go to our very own rising star Holly Laws. Holly was awarded and identified as one of Newcastle’s rising stars of the future at a star-studded event. Well Done Hol and keep up the good work! We know two parents who are very proud of you! Pic below of Holly all dressed up with her award. (Bit of a change from a blue /white gi!)

North West Age Band Open, St Helen’s (1^st & 2^nd Mar) – The club had 14 members at this high quality event and returned with a very respectable gold, three silvers, 4 bronzes and 3 fifth places in total. The gold was taking by Stacey who then went on to fight in the higher weight category and took a bronze  - Well done Stace! Silvers were taking by Chloe, Katy, and Megan (Joe thought she fought out of her skin). The remaining bronze positions were taking by Jordan, Holly F and Holly L. Well done to Jennifer, Lee and John on very respectable fifth places. Special mention to Michael, Daniel, Rob and Claire on a tremendous effort on the day and keep up the good work!

Newburn Judo Club Community Day (23^rd Feb) – The club held an open day to promote judo to the wider community and put on an amazing event at Newburn Leisure Centre. The club put together an event, which involved a fun day, which included bouncy castles, inflatable obstacle course, jousting (Like the Gladiators one!), inflatable sumo and boxing plus a rodeo bull (Heeehaaaa!)! There was also judo information and judo DVD’s on display. The purpose of the event was to introduce young people to judo within a FUN atmosphere. The event attracted an excellent total of 300 young people on the day of which 60 have signed up to taking part in a six-week beginners course from next week. The club would like to thank the local Children’s Network Fund for a grant, which helped to hold the event. Special thanks go to Graham Bailey of the BJA for his sterling support for the event and his work on the day.

Rising Star (23rd Feb) – The club would like to announce that one of the members; Holly Laws has been nominated by Sport Newcastle for their Rising Star award. The nomination is a great achievement for Holly who has had an excellent 2007. She won an impressive 42 fights throughout the year and gained a place on the BJA's World Start Programme. The event will take place at Newcastle Civic Centre where she will be up against 10 other nominees from other sports for the award. Have a great night Holly and a big well done from all the club!

Newburn Seniors - (18th Feb) - Full mat at Newburn senior session with a number visitors from the Northern area also on the mat - 34 seniors in total of which 8 of them were Dan grades. It was such a successful night the idea has been proposed to do a monthly randori session on at Newburn due to the available matsize. Dates to be confirmed ASAP.

Knottingley Mini-Mons (3^rd Feb) – The club had some of our newer, younger and less experienced members to this event and returned with an impressive 16 medals. The club took 5 gold’s, six silvers and 5 bronze medals. The gold medallists were: Molly, George Gray, Robbie Walker, (one to look out for), Rob Atwell and Tom Bell. Silver medallists were: George Bell, David Jenkins, Curtis Hollocks, William Scott, Robyn Atwell and Hayley Latimer. The bronze medallists were: Daisy Weston, Jack Curry, Alana Guiliani, Jade Donnelly and Daniel Brooks. Well done to the remaining guys who fought really well and did themselves proud.

Midland Under 20’s, Walsall (2^nd & 3^rdFeb) - The club entered this event with a mix of experienced and younger less experienced players to this high-class event. The club returned with one gold, two silvers and 4 bronze medals. Congratulations go to Nikki for her gold, Jordan and Stacey on their silvers and Megan, Kirsty, Holly and Lee on their bronze medals. Well done to the rest of the guys on their efforts over the weekend. The coaching staff were really pleased with the development of the younger members who although did not medal they all won two fights.     

Newburn Age and Graded Event – (26th January, 2008) – The club organized this event to help introduce more young people to the world of contest judo. The event was structured to give as many young people as possible a positive experience from a judo event especially beginners. The under tens and the under 16s sixth Mon and below were arranged in groups of four so all could have at least 3 fights. This format proved to be very attractive and the event attracted an entry of 341 judoka from around the country. The club took an impressive 49 medals, (16 gold’s, 13 silvers and 20 bronzes – see table for the medallists) plus the team trophy with Scotland’s Just Judo a very respectable second. The club would like to thank all the parents, volunteers, referees, officials and contestants for their support and work in making it a great day for all.

Community Judo Day, (Newburn) – The club would like to announce that it will be holding an open community day on Saturday 23rd February as a means of promoting and celebrating judo and introducing judo to the wider community. The event will be a one-day event with a wide range of activities, judo demonstrations, presentations and information about judo and the club. The club will be working with all of the schools from the Newcastle area. The event has been designed to be a fun event, as we will have bouncy castles and slides, an inflatable obstacle course, rodeo rides, inflatable sumo and boxing attractions. Many thanks to the Children’s Network Fund for its support of the event. The event will be followed up by a free six week introduction to judo course ran by qualified coaches from the club

Brtish Closed, Sheffield (1st Dec) - The club entered this event for the first time and returned with two silver medals. A big well done to Megan Henderson and Louise Little on their achievements and a huge well done to the remaining guys who performed extremely well at the highest british level of Junior judo.

Den Helder, Holland (25th Nov) - Three of the members travelled to Europe to fight in the prestigious Den Helder event. Stacey and John both returned with Bronzes while Lee unfortunately returned empty handed but gained valuable experience in a tough event
Northern Area Gradings, Crowtree, Sunderland (24th Nov) – Congratulations go to the following members who attained new grades at the weekend. Firstly to Katy Seymour who gained her 8th mon, Michael Wilkinson on moving to top orange (9th Mon) and to Joe French on gaining his middle orange (8th Mon) – well done guys!

Hull Open Championships (18th Nov) – We only had one member at this event, which was Kirsty Wright, but she represented the club really well by returning with a very good silver medal in what was a tough category. Well-done Kirsty!

BJA Junior Nationals A banded, Thetford, Norfolk – (18th Nov) – Two the club members entered this event and returned with a bronze and a fifth place. Congratulations go to Chloe Fidgeon on gaining a bronze (The third national medal for the Fidgeon Clan this year) and to Katy Seymour in gaining a very respectable fifth place – Well done girls!

Social Event, Newburn (2nd Nov) – the club held a social evening for its older members and to acknowledge the clubs achievement of 20 successful years in judo and within community. Special guests at the event were Joe Glynn of Stockton Judo Club, Chloe Cowen (Congrats on the new job within the BJA!) two of Newburn’s local councillors, Linda Wright and Anne Whittaker and Graham Bailey of the BJA. After the speeches followed a night of entertainment delivered by a hypnotist. What a howl! Anyone who was there will not forget how Judo Joe has become a tree and now has a total phobia of dogs and Madonna!! Great Night! Highlights to follow via Youtube! Watch out for a big event the club is working on to mark our 20th Anniversary in the coming months.

Halloween Night Social (31st Oct) – Wwwwooooo!!! The club held its annual Halloween bash for its younger members – and for some of its older ones with some frightening results see the motley crew below.


Gateshead Open (28th Oct) – The club attended this local event (Nice to have one on the door step!) with 17 members and returned with 17 medals. The club took five gold’s, five silvers and 7 bronze medals: The gold’s were won by: Megan, Chloe, Stacey, Kirsty and Jordan. The silver medallists were taken by: Holly L, Alana, Adil, Rob and Lee while the bronze medals were won by: Emily, Jennifer, Robyn, Hayley, James, Joe and John. Keep up the good work guys!

Congratulations! (27th Oct) – The club would like to extend a great big well done to the following members on their selection to the BJA’s World Start Squad: Megan Henderson, Holly Fidgeon, Holly Laws, Stacey Stevenson, Nikki Steele and Chris Summerson. Also congratulations to Louise little on being selected for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS). And finally a big well done to Fidge on being selected for the Great Britain Masters Squad!

British Junior Nationals, Sheffield (13th/14th Oct) – A great weekend of judo and a healthy return of results from an event with 750 entries. A very high standard was displayed with quality players from all over the UK. The club returned with one gold, (Louise), one silver, (Holly F), 2 bronzes, Nikki and Chris and three fifth places (John, Megan and Jenny). While Lee, Rhys, Stacey, Holly and Kirsty all represented the club and the Northern area well in winning fights and with a bit more luck could have added to the medal total. Well-done guys!

Great Northern Open Championships, Newcastle (6th Oct) – The club entered this local event with a team of 38 and returned with an impressive 27 podium places (6 gold’s, 12 silvers and 9 bronze). The event had 348 entries from countries around Europe including Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The gold medal takers were: Megan, Louise, James, Jennifer, Demi and Claire. Silver medallists were: Chloe Wilson, Molly, Jasmine, George Gray, Daniel Lockey, Hayley, Adil, Daniel Laws, Chloe F, Stacey, Rhys and Jordan. The bronze medallists were: Jessica, Daisy Weston, Robyn, Rob, Holly F, Holly L, Kirsty, Lee and Clemont. Clemont is a French Dan grade that has just joined our club and will be joining the coaching staff at Newburn. The club also took the team trophy to complete a hat trick of wins in the event. Special mentions go to the following members on gaining their first medals for the club: : Daisy Weston, George Gray, Robyn Atwell, Jordan Beck and Clemont. Added to this Holly Laws and Jordan Beck took their first senior medals. Well done to our remaining players who won fights and were great representatives of the club – Also thanks to the organisers of the event for their efforts on the day.

North of England, Bradford (29th Sept) – The club attended this event with a team of nine and returned with nine medals: the team took one gold, 5 silvers and three bronze medals. Stacey took gold, while Joe, Michael, John, Lee and Kirsty took silver with Daniel, Holly and Jennifer taking the bronzes. Well-done guys! (The latest results take the club's medal total past the 200 mark for the year)

British Masters (29thSept) – Its big congratulations to our very own coach, Glynn “Fidge” Fidgeon on becoming the British Masters Champion (U60kgs 35 – 40 year olds). Fidge has been working really hard in training (Well he has been beating Lee up on a regular basis) and thoroughly deserves his title. He won all four of his fights including beating the Commonwealth champion on the way to the final. We understand he now plans to go the next step and its on to the Masters World Championships in Belgium next year. A big well done from all of us!

New Dan Grade! Crowtree, Sunderland (22nd Sept) – The club would like to congratulate John McGuiness on gaining his first Dan at the Northern area grading. John, aged 16, has been doing judo since he was five and has competed at a national level for a number of years. Well-done John from everyone in the club! John is the club’s third new Dan grade of the year following Lee Storey and Aaron Hunter’s promotions. Also congratulations go to Holly Laws on gaining senior brown belt (Now on the route for her Dan grade!), plus Stacey Stevenson and Rhys Ash on gaining their junior brown belts.


Alton Towers (16th Sept) – Whhhheeeeyyyyyyy!!!!! – It was off to Alton Towers for 40 of the clubs members and families by Charabang (A bus to the uninitiated). A fantastic day (Weather included!) was had by all on some of the biggest, scariest, fastest and awesome rides in the country. The rides included Air, Nemesis, Oblivion, Ripsaw, Submission etc. Highly recommended place to visit! Special thanks to the Children’s Network Fund for a grant that helped support the club to arrange this event!


Newburn Red and Yellow Belt Event – Newburn (8th Sept) – The club held this event for lower graded players with 90 entries from clubs from the region and Scotland. The club gained 10 gold’s, 6 silvers and 8 bronze medals. The gold medallists were: Adil, Molly Seymour (Her first for the club and was also named player of the day), David Jenkins, Tom Bell, Haley, Jennifer Chance, Demi, Michael, Jack Curry and Joe French. The silver medallists were: Alana Guiliani, Katy, Claire Laing, Jasmine, James Arkless and Emily Thompson. While the bronze medallists were: Daniel Laws, Sarah Stephenson, James Stephenson, Josh Allan, Robyn Atwell, Jessica Hall, Danielle Hall and Jade Donnelly. Well done to the remaining members who fought extremely well and also won fights. Special thanks to the referees, table officials and club volunteers for all of your efforts throughout the day to make the event a successful one

The Heart of England, NIA, Birmingham, (2nd Sept) – The club attended this event with a team of eleven and returned with six medals and two fifth places. The event held at the NIA in Birmingham attracted 920 entries from around the country and was again a very high quality event, which was organized well for the numbers entered. Katy Seymour took gold in her first event for the club plus moved up a category. Holly F took silver in her category while Megan, Stacey, Holly L and Nikki achieved bronzes. Congratulations also to Jenny and Chloe on gaining respectable 5th places. Also hard luck to Lee, John and Rhys who competed well but were just out of the medals.

The Lake Lands Open, (12-16) Kendal - (26th August) - First event after the summer break and a warm up for next weekends Heart of England event. The club had 9 entered into the event and returned with 2 gold’s, three silvers and 2 bronze medals. The gold medallists were Nikki and Jenny O’Neill (her first medal for the club). Silver medallists were Holly L, Megan and Stacey while Holly F and Kirsty picked up bronze. Unfortunately Joe and Rhys were unsuccessful this time but won fights (Rhys with a spectacular ippon) and gained vital experience.

Congrats! (13th Aug) – Big congratulations go to two of the club members on being selected to represent Great Britain and England. Louise Little will be travelling to Prague as a reserve representing Great Britain in the Junior European Championships in October, while Lee Storey and Louise have been selected to represent England in the forthcoming UK School Games. Best of luck to both members from the entire club!

Newburn Red and Yellow Belt Event – the club would like to announce that it will be holding a Mini Mon event on the 8th of September at Newburn Leisure Centre. For an entry form please contact Club Secretary - Jean Wakeford on 0191 267 9720 or request an entry form by email please click here

Awards for All, (23rd July) – the club would like to announce that it has been awarded £6,100 from the lottery for projects throughout the year to increase skills amongst the members and its volunteers.

Halesowen, Birmingham (22nd July) – Two of the club members attended this event in the midlands and returned with two silvers. Lee Storey and John McGuiness both fought really well. Lee only lost the final on a shido in golden score and John performed to his usual high standards. Both lads are having an excellent year! Keep up the good work lads!

Newburn Festival, 14th/15th July – the club took part in a range of activities over the weekend including a fun run to raise funds for the club. Eighteen of the club members also gave a demonstration on the Sunday along with other martial arts in front of a very appreciative audience. On the Saturday the club organized a social event in a huge marquee with a bar and BBQ. Special thanks to all the members who took part in the demo on the Sunday. Plus a big thanks to Daniel Fieldhouse’s mam who ran a karaoke for the evenings entertainment.

BJA Goole Senior and Youth Event, 15th July – Three of the club members attended this event and returned with 4 medals. Lee took gold in the youth and a bronze in the senior event. John took silver and gained points towards his Dan grade and Stacey the bronze in her event. Well-done guys!

BJA Northern Area Four Seasons, (Summer) Eston, 14th July – Fifteen of the clubs lower graded members attended this local event and returned with 12 medals. Congratulations go to gold medallists: Adil, Joe, Jennifer and Claire. Silver medallists were: James, Michael and Demi while David, Josh (His first for the club), Danielle, Jasmine and Alex returned up the A19 with bronze medals. Special mention to the remaining guys who were unsuccessful for the fantastic effort you displayed on the day. Well done all!
Wet’n’Wild 8th July – The club organized this social event via our social fund at a local water park (You would have thought they would have had enough of the water by now due to our glorious British summer!) for sixty of the club members and their families. A great day was had by all with some great water rides in the venue. Congratulations to those that managed to stay to the end. They all ended up looking rather prune like by the end of the day!

KJC Festival of Sport, U16's, 1st July (Knottingley) – the club would like to congratulate Kirsty Wright on taking silver at this event at the weekend. We understand Kirsty just lost out in the final to a very experienced opponent – a big well-done Kirsty keep up the good work!

Kent International, Crystal Palace, 23rd/24th June (London) – Long hard journey, long hard event and a long hard weekend. The club travelled to London for this premier event with some of its more experienced judoka. The event had over a thousand entries over the weekend (700 on the Saturday and 300 on the Sunday) and was a graded event. The club took a gold, Louise Little, a bronze medal (Holly F) and a fifth place (Stacey) due to the quality of the judo being exceptional, especially in the higher graded categories. The remaining members all put up good performances with wins and gaining vital experience for the future. The journey down was a bit of a nightmare (3 hours on the M25) and the event ran well over on the Saturday with our last member not coming off the mat until 8.30pm while other categories did not finish until after 10.00pm (We were there at 9.00am) and the venue was extremely hot. On the plus side we did manage to blag a private box for the two days, which helped tremendously! Still a great weekend!

BJA National Teams Event Squad Selection (15th June) - The club would like to announce that seven of the club members have been selected to represent the BJA Northern Area at this weekends National Team Event at the K2 centre in Crawley, London. Congratulations go to Lee, John, Nikki, Holly L, Stacey, Holly F and Rhys . All the club wish you the best of luck for the weekend!

Kyu –Shin – Do – Ryu, Chester-le- Street, (10th June) – Theclub attended this local BJC event with a team of 21 players who were a mixture of experienced and novice competitors but returned with 18 medals. There were five gold’s, seven silvers and 6 bronzes. The winners of the gold’s were: Adil, Rhys, Chloe, Stacey and Lee. While James, Robert, Joe, Jessica, Jasmyn, Holly F and Holly L took the silvers. Finally the winners of the bronze medals were: Joseph, Daniel Laws, Michael, Nico, Jennifer and Alex. Special mentions must go to Daniel, Joseph and Alana on competing really well in their first event and to Kieron on putting up an excellent effort in a tough group. Congratulations to Kyu-Shin-Do-Ryu the hosts on winning the team trophy (won it by two points from Newburn)

New Dan Grade, Crowtree, Sunderland. (9th June) – The club would like to congratulate Aaron Hunter on gaining his Dan grade at the Northern area grading this weekend. Aaron did exceptionally well winning his line up in record time (Under a minute!) Well done mate!. While, John McGuiness gained 20 points towards his Dan grade. Also congratulations to Holly L on gaining her 18th mon, Megan on gaining top blue and Kirsty on gaining her blue belt.

Venray, Holland (2nd/3rd June) – Two of the club members attended this prestigious and high quality event in Holland which had 1500 competitors over the two days from as far away as Russia. Louise Little (representing the BJA) took a gold in the over 78kg category and Lee Storey won a couple of contests in a category with over 50 competitors in. Well-done guys!

HMS Calliope (24th May) - The club took part in one of its most unusual training sessions at HMS Calliope. Twelve of the members were invited by Her Majesties Royal Navy to spend the day with them and do some judo training as well. The day began with a trip on HMS Example up the Tyne River and out to the North Sea (It was like a mill pond). This also included having Gateshead’s Millennium Bridge raised (Twice) – that was a fantastic site! All the members had a go at steering the ship (It’s a ship not a boat!) and had a salute to a passing French Coastguard ship. Special thanks to Captain Caroline Wyness for her hospitality on board and to the crew for their hard work: Ian “Nobby” Clark, Ross, Petchy and Mick. Also thanks for the pizzas although some of the kids struggled with the spinach ones (Hey! If it’s good enough for Popeye its good enough for us!) Once back to HMS Calliope (After waving to the land lubbers on Newcastle Quayside!) the members took part in a training session with guest instructor Peter Powell (2nd Dan) that they all enjoyed immensely and were presented with goody bags at the end of the session. Thanks to the members of HMS Calliope Judo club for their hospitality.
Footnote: None of the members were press-ganged! However we were informed that the law regarding press-ganging has not been repealed so if the Navy wanted to you could find yourself taking the Queen’s shilling!

Four Seasons Spring, Eston (12th May) – The club attended this new local event and returned with 9 gold’s, two silvers and three bronzes from a squad of 16. The event held at Eston Leisure Centre ran well with a good turn out of 150 competitors and it was excellent not to travel a couple of 100 miles for an event (Even though a number people got lost getting to the event). The gold medallists were: Jennifer C, Claire, Haley, Adil, Michael, Holly L, Kirsty, Chloe F and Lee. The silver medallists: were Rhys and James, while Danielle, Jasmine and Daniel all took bronzes. Special mentions to Jessica and Robert who both just missed out on bronze medals while winning fights (Robert has only been doing judo for 4 weeks! One for the future!). Plus, one extra special mention to Adil, James and Daniel who took Gold, Silver and Bronze in their category. Well done all!

Dan Grade (8th May) – Big congratulations to Lee Storey on gaining his first Dan this weekend. Lee gained the required number of points at a gradings in Liverpool to achieve this milestone. Lee has had a cracking 2007 so far gaining 9 gold’s, 2 silvers and a bronze and winning 44 contests along the way and we are only just coming into May. Added to gaining the accolade of Sport Newcastle Rising Young Star he certainly has been a busy chap! Well done Lee from all the members of the club and we are sure his Mam (Caroline) and Gran (Ann) are as proud as punch!

International Dutch Youth Cup, Holland, (29th April) - One of the members, Lee Storey, attended this event in Holland representing Newburn. Lee won two fights (both for ippon against judoka from Belguim and Holland) in a highly competitive category, 38 in total, but lost two fights one of which was to the eventual bronze medallist Nielson Thor of Denmark.

Millom Open Judo Championships, Cumbria (29th April) – The club attended this event on the west side of the country via the Lake District with a squad of 22 members. They all had a great day out and returned with 8 gold’s, 7 silver’s and 6 bronzes. The gold medallists were: David Jenkins, John McGuiness, Chris Summerson, Sarah McMasters, Megan Henderson, Clair Laing and Joe French. The silver medal winners were: James Arkless, George Bell, Sam Henderson, John McGuiness, Megan Henderson, Stacey Stevenson and Holly Laws. Bronze medallists were: Daniel Laws, Tom Bell, Michael Wilkinson, Jennifer Chance, Jessica Hall and Kirsty Wright. A special mention to John (who also took the player of the day award for his performance), Megan and Stacey for winning their silver’s in higher categories and to Adil, Callum, Jasmine and Danielle on competing extremely well and we are sure they will succeed in the next event. Well done to all!


The Highland Open Judo Championships, Fort William, Scotland, (14th April) – The club took the high road to a truly beautiful part of the world to take part in a good quality event and returned with 2 gold’s, 6 silvers and 3 bronzes. The gold’s were taken by Holly L (her first of the year) and Lee, while the silvers were taken by Daniel, Stacey, Sophie, Holly F, Chloe and Lee (He fought in two categories). Rhys, Sarah and Nikki won the remaining bronze medals.Special mention to Kirsty, Michael and John who were unfortunate to come away without medals, Kirsty gaining a credible 5th. While, John (Moved up to 81kgs) and Michael were in categories with more experienced players but give good accounts of themselves. All of the guys had a fantastic weekend, which was rounded off by a visit to a fairground outside (M & D’s at Strathclyde Country Park) Glasgow. We understand it had a couple of really good roller coaster rides (Tsunami and The Tornado) for those who dared to ride them!

Ashington Mini-Mons, (7th April) – The club entered this local event with a squad of 14 and returned an impressive haul of 4 gold’s, 5 silvers and 5 bronzes. The gold’s were taken by: Hayley Latimer, George Bell, Jennifer Chance and Joe French (His first for the club). The silvers were taken by: Daniel Laws, (who was also named player of the day), Bronwyn Clark, James Arkless, Jasmine Wilkinson and Tom Bell, while the bronze medals were taking by: Alex Stephenson, Michael Wilkinson, Claire Laing, Daniel Fieldhouse and Thomas Waldron. The club would also like to thank Ashington Judo Club for organizing the event

Lommel and Spain Cadet Events (5th April) – Three of the members returned from distant lands (Well Belgium and Spain) with very credible 5th places in their events while representing Great Britain. Lee and Nikki returned after a week of training in Spain and gained a great deal of experience from the week while Sophie secured a very credible fifth in Lommel, Belgium. They all won fights in their categories. Well done all!

BSJA Junior Nationals - K2, Crawley, London, (31st March) - Eight members of the club made the long journey to repesent their schools (Or Skooool! depending on which part of Newcastle you come from) and returned with three silvers and three bronzes. The journey took in the sites of London (well a major M25 traffic jam for two hours) but all arrived safely at the impressive K2 centre in Crawley. Sliver medalists were Holly F, Sophie Steele and Stacey while Nico, Chloe and Chris returned with the bronzes. Unfortunately, John and Holly L just missed out on the medals despite winning fights

Durham Open, Spennymoor (24th March) – The club travelled to this local event with a squad of 8 and returned with 7 medals. Lee and Nikki took gold, Holly and Rhys silver, while Adil, Stacey and Kirsty returned with bronze. Unfortunately, Daniel missed out on the medals but we are sure he will be successful soon.

Race Night (23rd March) - “And they’re under starters orders and they’re off!” the club held a Race Night “fun”draising night at Newburn Leisure Centre and rose close to £500 to go towards supporting the members of the club to participate in judo events etc. The club also was presented with its Sport England Club Mark Bronze award from local councillors Linda Wright and Anne Whittaker. Special guests at the event were Graham Bayley (BJA Northern Area Development Officer) and Malcolm Dix of Newcastle Sport. Big thanks to all the companies and people who sponsored the races and to all the members who supported the event (And now have less money in their pockets after betting on one legged donkeys!). Special thanks to Nikki Steele who worked all night on the “tote” table.

Newburn Judo Club Show, (17th March) – Sixty of the junior members attended the inaugural club event. The aim of the event was to give those members new to judo an experience of contest judo in a supportive and encouraging environment. Plus it was a great opportunity for parents and family members to learn about the rules of judo. All of those who participated were awarded a medal and all seemed to enjoy the afternoon tremendously. Special mention to one of the younger members, Amy law, who fought on despite being a bit stressed and performed really well. Also big thanks to all the parents and families who came along and supported the members. Finally thanks to Colin for refereeing, Stacey and Holly for doing the tables and all the parent volunteers who helped with the smooth running of the event.

Newcastle Sports Councils Sporting Awards, Newcastle Civic Centre, (12th March). – One of our members had a night to remember. Lee Storey was awarded Newcastle City Councils Award for Sporting Achievement at a star-studded event at the Newcastle Civic Centre. The event was a black tie occasion with a host of local dignitaries and local celebrities (Jack Charlton and Glen Roeder to name but two) and Tyne Tees Television in attendance. We understand that Lee and his family had a fantastic night, which was then rounded off with the club winning two return flight tickets to New York. A huge well done Lee from everyone in the club.

The Parks Open, North Shields (10th March) – The club attended this local event with a good size squad and returned with an impressive medal total 10 gold’s, 5 silvers and 8 bronze medals plus the team trophy. The gold medallists were Lee (4 gold’s he fought in four categories, but only one of them counted towards the team trophy. And it was his 16th birthday! It certainly was a case of many happy returns) John, Rhys, Laura Steele, Stacey, Chelsea and Sarah. The silver medallists were Megan, Bronwyn, Danielle Hall, Tom (his first event and has only being doing judo for 6 weeks) and Claire. The bronze medallists were Adil, Holly L, Jennifer Chance, Jessica Hall, Louise Watson, Demi Shepard, Megan and Chris. The remaining members all fought really well. Also well done to Holly F and Chloe F who both got silver but were representing Spennymoor for the event. Special mention to Daniel Laws and James Arkless who won five fights each and just missed out on the medals – keep up the good work guys!

Grangemouth Open, Scotland (4th March) – The club attended this event in bonny Scotland with five of its members and returned with an impressive haul of 6 trophies. Lee and John took gold, Stacey and Holly took silver while Rhys took a bronze. Lee also took bronze in the senior event and managed to gather another 30 points towards his black belt. A special mention to Rhys who was heading towards the U46kg final when he was caught by a flying tomoe nage. We are sure Rhys will remember not to rush in again after this one. His opponents foot was slightly lower than the stomach for which he intended (All the blokes winced!!) Well done to all.

Northern Area Gradings, Crowtree, Sunderland – (3rd March) - four members of the club attended this weekend and came away with some good results. Holly Laws gained her 17th Mon, while Stacey and Rhys moved to 15th Mon. The remaining member, Lee Storey, was competing for his black belt was unsuccessful but did gain points towards his Dan grade. Well done to all

Lommel International Cadet Selection, (1st March) – The club has received news that Sophie Steele has been selected to represent the BJA at the Lommel Cadet International in Belgium on the 6th April. This is great news for Sophie and the club. A big well done from all of us!

Hot off the press!! (25th February) - The club would like to announce that it has become the second judo club in the North East to be awarded the Sport England Clubmark Bronze Award. This is a great achievement for the club and a big well done has to be giving to the club secretary Jean Wakeford who has put a lot of hours and work into the club achieving this award

North West Open, St. Helens 24/25th February – The club attended this BJA 3 star-ranking event and returned with 2 gold’s (Lee and Louise) and five bronzes (John, Sophie, Chris, Nikki and Holly F) while Rhys took a credible fifth. The event was a very high standard with ranking points at stake so the competition was intense. Unfortunately, Stacey, Holly L and Chloe were unable to progress past their opponents but we are sure their development will continue on. Special mention to John McGuiness on his bronze as he has had a bit of a slow start to the year but it looks like his judo is starting to click. Keep up the good work!

Easyfundraising Web Shop - The club has also launched its second webshop via Easyfundraising.org.uk. The site has some very high quality high street companies which will give a donation to the club for using the site at no extra cost to you please click the logo to visit the shop

The Weather Lottery – 23rd February – the club would like to announce that as part of its development plan it is launching its own lottery. The lottery will give a top prize of £10,000 for six numbers over a 4-day period for the princely sum of £1. This is an exciting project as a means to increase the clubs income to support the members to participate in judo events throughout the country. To see how to play please see the fundraising page.

GB Cadet Squad – 23rd February – The club would like to congratulate two of the club members, Nikki Steele and Lee Storey, on being selected to take part in a five day training course and event to take place in Fuengirola, Spain. We hope they have a great time and do themselves and the club proud. A big well done from all the members!!

Knottingley Mini Mons, 11th February– the club attended this event in Yorkshire with some its younger and lower graded members (Ten in total). For some of them it was their first event and nerves were a little bit on the tense side. However, they performed extremely well returning with 2 gold’s and 4 bronze medals between them: Sarah McMaster and Claire Laing taking gold, while Jessica Hall, Bronwyn Clark, James Arkless and Nico Guiliani took the bronze medals. David Jenkins took a very respectable 5th, winning 4 contests and just missing out for another bronze. The remaining players Danielle Hall, Jessica Jones and Daniel Temple all put up good fights and gained valuable experience from the event. A big well done guys from everyone in the club.

Rising Star – The club would like to announce that one of the members; Lee Storey has been nominated by Sport Newcastle for their Rising Star award. The nomination is a great achievement for Lee who has had an excellent 2006 and has started where he left off last year in the last two events. The event will take place at Newcastle Civic Centre where he will be up against 10 other nominees from other sports for the award. Have a great night Lee and a big well done from all the club!

BJA Midland Open 3rd/ 4th February, Walsall. The club attended this aged banded event at the Walsall campus of Wolverhampton University. The event was a very high standard with some excellent judo and judoka on display. The club had 11 members in the event and returned with 2 gold’s, 1 silver and 2 bronzes. Lee and Chloe took gold; Nikki the silver while Holly Fidgeon and Sophie took bronze in their category. Holly Laws, Rhys, Kirsty and Stacey took very credible 5th places in what were very competitive categories with a lot of national squad members in them. Unfortunately, John and Nicola had a tough day but we are sure their efforts will be rewarded soon.

AMF Bowling Social 27th Jan (Newcastle) - Ssstrike!!! – The club held a social night at The AMF in Newcastle with over 100 members and their families in attendance – (we took over three quarters of the building). The night was a huge success with all the members having a great time. We understand it was the first time a lot of the members had played – Even for Judo Joe it was a first! The good news was Joe’s hip held out while completing a couple of strikes and every one had a great night.

HMS Calliope – Latest news - The club has been invited to a judo session with a real difference. The Royal Navy have invited 10 of the club members to a training session on the 24th of May. The day will include a trip out to sea on HMS Example for about three hours then returning for a judo session at the base. We will soon find out who has their sea legs!! Further details will be available nearer the date.

Welsh Open 20th Jan, Cardiff – six club members and supporters made the long journey to Wales. This event was the first of the year and the standard was as high as ever. The club returned with 2 silvers and a bronze. Lee (Starting where he finished off last year) and John taking silver and Stacey taking bronze. Rhys and Holly both put up good fights but the day was not theirs. While, Kirsty fought extremely well and was a real handful against the eventual medal winners in the category but was unsuccessful. (Keep up the good work Kirsty!). A very special mention to Stacey, who has had a really tough 2006 by anyone’s standards yet she performed really well to win her bronze considering she had a really heavy cold and was taking to golden score. A big well done from all of us. Side note: Did we really pay £8.00 each for a plate of chicken and chips or was I dreaming!!

Hull Open, Hull 19th November – The club took a team of 7 to this high quality event and returned with 2 gold’s, (Lee Storey and Holly Laws) 3 silvers (Chloe and Holly Fidgeon and Stacey Stevenson) and 2 bronzes (Kirsty White and Rhys Ash). All of the guys were entered in the B event and were all giving good tests of their judo. The event was well attended and ran well (7 ’o' clock finish mind!) but it has to be said that the seating was the hardest we have come across. (A few comfortable cushions for next year will be in order definitely!!)