Budokan Judo Club Achievements 2003

2003 Annual General Meeting, 24 November 2003

COACHING COORDINATORS’ REPORT

It is with pleasure that we submit this report following our 5th year as Coaching Coordinators at Budokan Judo Club Incorporated.  The growth in the club as described in the President’s report continues to amaze us. The enthusiasm within our membership and the parent and support base just grows with each new member. As coaches, our aims for the club are enduring and we measure our success each year against them:

• to provide internationally benchmarked innovative training and sound technical input to the club's players;

   

• to satisfy the desire of our athletes to develop and learn, and to assist them to set and achieve their personal goals for the sport, whether they be fitness and recreation, coaching, refereeing, or competition performance at the international level;

   

• to help the athletes take Judo’s values and traditions into their daily lives to help make them better people;

   

• to instill a high level of confidence and trust by all members and parents in all club Coaches; and

   

• to plan and act in such a way that everyone in the club becomes infected with a passion and enthusiasm for Judo so that the sport and the club are attractive both to all existing and to new members.

   

In these ways the profile and image of Judo and the club will be enhanced in the community.

In the end, if we lose any focus at all, all we need to do is remember that the club is there for the athletes, and we are there to provide a service to them and to encourage their active participation and achievement of goals. The participation and results of our athletes in competitions has been nothing short of outstanding, and each year we continue to build on the depth of results in previous years.  We continue to challenge the club and its athletes and participate at every level of the competitive spectrum. Our major achievements are:

MONSters Session.  As mentioned, the dedicated U/10s MONs session on Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm has grown 50% in 12 months to an active 25-30 regularly on the mat.

• Assistant Coaches. Taking care of the large MONSter session and the Junior sessions can only be achieved with a number of coaches assisting Kerrye on those nights. Special thanks to Guido, Dale, Erik, Alexandra, Ben, Patrick, Jessica and Kiarn who support Kerrye at either the MONSters session, the Junior sessions, or both.

• Sessions Extended.  Last year we also extended the Tuesday and Thursday session times for our Juniors by 25% with the Junior session time being 6:30 – 7:45 and the seniors 7:45 – 9:15.  This has been well received and we will consider another session, or just some nominated extra sessions now and then for serious competition players depending on the demand during next year.

• Adult Education. With Dale’s assistance, Rob designed and ran a parents “Come & Try” course early in the year over 6 Monday nights.  With 9 attendees, 3 of whom were graded as a result of the course and continue to train regularly, this course was a success and met its goals of introducing Judo to parents. Congratulations to all the participants.

• Gradings. We continue to run sufficient gradings to allow athletes to be graded when they are ready with minimum delay.  Again, we have approved over 30 promotions.

• State and National Coaching. This year Kerrye and Dale did outstanding work in their capacity as State Junior Girls and Junior Women’s coaches respectively to the Nationals with Kylie Koenig as Kerrye’s assistant.  Kerrye and Rob retain their positions as National “A” Team coaches, with Rob nominating for and being selected for Men’s Coach to the 2003 Pacific Rim event in The Philippines.  Unfortunately the event was postponed until 2004. Rob and Kerrye have nominated for 2004 Olympic Teams Coaches.

Competition Representation.  Congratulations to the 14 members of the club who represented NSW in 20 divisions at the combined Junior and Senior Nationals in Melbourne this year, and those who distinguished themselves internationally.

A summary of all major events for 2003 follows.

• Senior Nationals: Jessica Malone 1st , Janelle Shepherd 3rd , Nikola Pejic 5th , Jovan Pejic Withdrawal injured, Yvonne Mitchell Withdrawal injured, Daniel Mitchell 7th, Morgan Endicott-Davies 3rd , and 3rd (Open), Shepherd 3rd , Frankie Serrano 3rd , with former club member Julia Serrano 1st
• Junior Men and Women Nationals: Patrick Waite 5th , Jessica Malone 1st , Alexandra Waite 3rd , Janelle Shepherd 1st, William Hunter 3rd, Nikola Pejic 1st, Jovan Pejic 1st -  a piece of history being the first twins to win a Nationals 
• Junior Nationals: Kiarn Kelly 3rd (and our first originally home-grown Budokan National medal), Rory Waite 5th, Ben Zellner 3rd, Patrick Waite 1st
• Oceania Championships (Senior Divisions only): Janelle Shepherd 3rd, Jessica Malone 3rd and 3rd (Open),  Morgan Endicott-Davies 2nd. Victorian rep Frankie Serrano 1st
• MONSters U/10s: fantastic representation in every MONSters event and most RSLs with Nathan Katz and Karen Da Silva taking the annual RSL awards for best U/10s boy and girl respectively.
• World Masters: Dale Keogh again defending her World Masters title
• Open Internationals: Jessica Malone represented Australia at the 2003 World Championships with Morgan Endicott-Davies and Janelle Shepherd as reserves. Jessica also represented at the USA Open achieving a Bronze Medal, a fantastic result in international senior competition at 16 years of age.  She is also about to embark on a trio of events representing at the Qing Dao International in China, the KRA Cup in Korea, and the Fukuoka Cup in Japan.  Morgan, Janelle, Yvonne, and Daniel also represented at the US Open with a number of matches being won albeit no other medals. Yvonne and Daniel also backed up for the Rendezvous Competition in Canada.

In addition to the competitions mentioned above, to give you an idea of our total participation, the club attended  almost 20 tournaments in NSW alone as well as the ACT Open and the Victorian International Open. We attended the Illawarra training camp, National Training Camps at the AIS, and NCAS and referee courses. 

The following statistics give you an idea of our depth of participation in competitions:

• National Championships - 14 athletes qualified in 20 divisions (and competed in 18 divisions), plus the Men’s Open: 8 senior division entries, 7 Junior Men/Women divisions, and 5 Shonen (U/16) divisions. This compares to 13 athletes in 17 divisions last year.  This year, we won 6 Gold Medals, 8 Bronze, 3 x 5th and 1 x 7th placing, excluding former member Julia Serrano (now playing for Victoria), who would have added another Gold medal to our tally. This compares to 5 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze medals and 3 x 5th’s last year.
• Oceania Championships – 3 athletes competing in 4 divisions resulting in 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals, plus a Gold medal to our Victorian member. In 2002, we had 7 athletes in 9 divisions but this included Junior Men and Women which was not contested this year.  Had it been, we would have had 4 more athletes representing the club and 6 more divisions
• ACT Open  - 17 athletes competing in 25 divisions resulting in 4 Gold medals, 5 Silver Medals, 5 Bronze Medals, 1 x 4th place, 2 x 5th places, and 1 x 7th place.
• NSW Open - 14 athletes competed in 22 divisions resulting in 5 Gold Medals, 5 Silver medals, 5 Bronze medals, 3 5th places, and 1 9th place
• VIOC - 5 athletes competed in 7 divisions resulting in 1 Gold medal, 4 Bronze medals, 1 x 5th and 1 x 7th/9th place
• RSLs and MONSters – we have also competed in every MONSter and RSL event, the latter being used primarily to blood athletes for the more competitive State events. Our MONSters have achieved numerous awards from best technique to Player of the Day, and annual RSL awards
• State Teams:  for the first time, we fielded a number of strong teams (albeit still short of full teams in some cases) with the following results: Men (Open Weight B Division) Brown Belt and below 3rd, Women (Open Weight B Division) Brown Belt and below 1st, Women (Open Weight A Division) Brown Belt and above 2nd, Junior Boys (U/16yrs weighted) 1st, Women's Masters Teams (Over 40yrs, Open Weight, 4th Kyu Orange and above) 1st.  We are very keen to fill all other teams next year and ask all athletes to keep the 18th July 2004 free.

The gutsy effort and determination of our younger athletes in particular, the solid training ethic in the build-up to the Nationals and other major events, the willingness to take advice and try new things, and finally the euphoria of performing to the best of their ability and the immediate enthusiasm to want to go one step further next time, makes coaching the club members that much more satisfying and rewarding.  It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of the Budokan atmosphere at the competitions this year. Congratulations to all the athletes and many thanks to all our wonderful supporters who continually stick together to form a united Budokan wall of support for all our competitors.

Like 2002, 2003 has been challenging yet satisfying. I would like to thank my fellow Coaching Coordinator and partner, Kerrye, our assistant Dale, and those athletes who help to run the U/10s and Junior sessions, in particular to Guido, Erik, Alexandra, Ben, Patrick, Jessica and Kiarn. Thanks also to Dale for her assistance to Rob in the Seniors session, and to Chad who ran some sessions with little notice when we were unavailable for a couple of weeks recently.  Unfortunately Barbara has had some medical and personal issues to address and we are sad that she has not been able to contribute to the club to her former level especially in the second half of this year. Again, as in previous years, I owe a special congratulations to Kerrye who continues to demonstrate a unique patience and ability to mentor the juniors, and this has resulted in huge growth of new members in that area.

We’d have to say that one of the most gratifying things about coaching at the club is not just in seeing the improvement in self-confidence or fitness or strength of the athletes, not the improvement in their technical ability, not even the very significant results being achieved at every level from Under 10s MONSters, to World Masters to Senior Open Internationals, albeit that these things are indeed gratifying in their own right. The most gratifying thing is actually seeing the people we teach developing selfless characters through a willingness to help others including those in other sessions; it’s seeing in these young people the early signs of being good coaches in their own right, to put something back into the sport in return for what they are getting from it. 

This is the true spirit of Judo and in being able to demonstrate these attributes to us at such young ages, this is where the student teaches the teacher.

Kerrye and Rob Katz 24th November 2003

Presidents Report

It is with pleasure that I submit this report following my third year as President of Budokan Judo Club Incorporated.  Firstly, I thank everyone who has taken the time to be here tonight.

In December 2000, we convened Budokan's inaugural AGM, with 31 club members at the time. Last year’s AGM saw us with 86 members on our books. We now have over 110, with 85 being active and regular trainers.  We have always had the personal objectives of player and parent confidence in the club's Coaches and in its Committee, in having the Committee run the club like a business, and having all issues concerning the club highly visible and well communicated to its members.  We continue to grow with these aims at the forefront, and with our focus clearly where it should be, on the athletes. The hard work of the Coaches, the Committee and Sub-Committees has allowed us to continue our growth in membership, our development and maturity as an established and well-oiled Judo machine, and our profile in both the Judo and in the general communities.

In the past 12 months, we have continued our development in the following areas:

• Our Committee has implemented many initiatives through good communication and planning, albeit that we continue to do this with less formal meetings than we probably should.
• The Sub-Committees continue to achieve significant results perhaps more through the energy of some energetic individuals as opposed to the strength of a group. There are still many projects needing to be started.
• Continuous improvement of member services with high quality communications, merchandising, more training sessions, more exposure to other clubs, and a more comprehensive Club Information Kit which continues to be highly regarded by all new members and parents.
• The rate of increase in club membership actually increased from last year, especially in the MONs group where there are now over 30 on the books and most of them active for most of the Wednesday sessions. Overall club growth is therefore encouraging with the comparison from previous years:
• From 31 at the 2000 AGM, to 73 at the 2001 AGM, to 86 (20% increase), to 112 now (a 30% increase on last year) albeit with active member numbers still at the 85 mark. 

We have increased the club's profile and improved its member services:

• Exposure.  Whilst we were pretty quiet on the demonstration front this year, electing not to participate in the Castle Hill Show, this did not affect interest in the club and new membership. The choice not to participate was based on the growth we were already enjoying as well as the need for a rest after preparing the hall for the show.
• Newsletter. The formal Newsletter was also pretty quiet this year, but we ran notices on upcoming major events and results of competitions.  We also updated our Internet site with results and news, and we continued to expose Budokan to the community via the Hills News and other articles. Notwithstanding these initiatives, it would be good to have regular formal Newsletters again.
• Visits.  After the 2 visits from clubs from New Caledonia and having Anja von Rekowski teaching and training at the club during last year, we had planned a club tour to New Caledonia.  Slowly, families who had expressed interest previously, dropped out, possibly unprepared for the costs involved, and so with only a couple of families interested, we abandoned the tour for another time. We have already had enquiries from New Caledonia as well as the Obusuma Club from Japan, and they will be visiting us again next year.
• MONSters Session.  Last year we commenced a dedicated U/10s MONs session on Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm.  In the space of 12 months from this time last year, they represent our greatest growth group of 50% up from 20 to over 30 on the mat.
• Sessions Extended.  Last year we also extended the Tuesday and Thursday session times for our Juniors by 25% with the Junior 6:30 – 7:45 and the Seniors 7:45 – 9:15.  This has been well received and we will consider another session, or just some nominated extra sessions now and then for serious competition players depending on the demand during next year.
• Publicity. Our strong relationship with the "Hills News" paper again resulted in a number of articles published.  We advised all members and parents to try to exclude the “Hills News” from publishing articles on individuals in preference for the overall “club” article, keeping the “Hills News” as the forum for “all of club” results.  Members and parents were encouraged to approach other local papers and this was well received.
• Hosting Competitions. This year, with a great deal of effort, we again hosted a very successful JFA(NSW) “MONS”ter event at the club. We are getting more professional at doing this. This year we sought and received sponsorship from Sensei’s Martial Arts, who donated 2 prizes for Players of the Day, a Judogi, and a Judo statue photo display, as well as making a presentation wall hanging to the club.  They were pleased with the enquiries they had at the merchandising stand, where Budokan also displayed and offered for sale, its unique merchandising range. Overall numbers of participating MONSters were down from last year probably because it was Father’s Day, but still a success and already booked for next year on the JFA(NSW) calendar , and not on Father’s Day.
• Equipment.  We continue to make good use of our gas heater for the parents and spectators, the scales we bought last year, and the BBQ.  The competition scoreboard is a little small, and we are keen to get a larger one made.
• Social Events.  The annual Christmas Party was again an enormous success thanks to Annette Finch and the Social Committee.  Parramatta Pool will be the venue of preference for this event in the future.

As for last year we most importantly have put our money where our mouth is with our athletes:

• Competition Participation.  Having our athletes achieve notable participation and results at every level of the competitive spectrum (refer to the Coaching Coordinator’s Report)
• Athlete Sponsorship. Sponsoring an increasing number of our elite junior and senior athletes to a total of $1800, a 50% increase on last year) to support travel and accommodation costs to national and international competitions.

We have increased the club's income by:

• Maintaining our agreement with Tumbletime Gymnastics and, with the growth of the Judo club and the risks associated with the equipment used by Gymnastics, now wish to consider the future of that arrangement. Makotokan Aikido continues to grow very slowly and this provides stable and reliable income.
• Merchandising Judogis (both new and second-hand).  The supply of new Judogis has caused difficulties and we are now using Sensei's Martial Arts. We are still merchandising key rings, T-Shirts, Judo bags, including MONSter merchandise during the MONs competition, and now Budokan  Coffee Mugs. All are now displayed in our cabinet within the club.  Our video library has expanded and we have introduced a range of books for hire. These are expensive and we need to encourage their hire to allow a greater range to be bought. We need to set up a new T Shirt and it’s probably time for a sloppy joe or polo shirt as well, although the market would probably be limited to the seniors. This needs to be considered for next year.
• Maintaining relationships with a number of sponsors, and although having planned to approach local industry in the area, we haven’t yet completed the preparation for this.
• We elected not to run fundraising ventures like the chocolate and lollie drive this year and could consider this again for 2004.
• We continue to assist in the running of numerous State competitions and have a number of people in the club willing to learn how to operate scoreboards, update draws, or getting athletes to the mat. The club has benefited from this via JFA(NSW) subsidy for participating clubs. In 2004, the JFA(NSW) will be rostering clubs and we need a core group who can coordinate volunteers for these roles or for weigh-in officials, or manning the entry table. This will free up the coaches to do what they do best. If we get a group together, we can even run a session on how to do the jobs.

Of significance, we have also achieved other objectives listed in last year’s report as follows:

• Building.  Continuing with our building projects from last year (roof insulation, ventilation and sealing), we now have an internal change room.  The projects for making the long bench on the south wall removable, and better window covers, are still in the plan. The formal agreements for a longer term lease with the Showground Society have progressed and I am currently responding to a draft developed by Rod Harris.
• Club Base.  The agreement with Makotokan Aikido Club remains strong.  During the year, because their development wasn’t as strong as they had planned, we extended the term of the cheaper rates.  They have volunteered to pay the full amount as they see the benefits of our partnership.
• Web Site.  The Budokan web-site completed 12 months ago, continues to mature but requires a lot of dedication from the web-master, Guido, who must be offered a special thanks for championing this project. The sponsor pages now take priority in preparation for our sponsorship drive.
• Education.   Last year, we worked on the education of, and greater involvement by our parents, especially in the running of the MONSter event.  With Dale’s assistance, I designed and ran a parents “Come & Try” course early in the year.  Over six, 1.5 hour sessions, we had 9 attendees, 3 who were graded as a result of the course and continue to train regularly. Congratulations to all the “senior” participants. This initiative gave parents a first hand try at what their children do, how difficult it is and the wonderful feeling of throwing and breakfalling. Our veterans team for the State Teams competition is getting stronger by the week.
• Safety.  We have continued to be vigilant by ensuring the safety of our younger members around the dojo.  The TV and video purchased has been a good distraction but children continue to play dangerously on the equipment and this is one of the reasons why we are seriously looking at our position with Tumbletime.

As the Club’s President, like 2002, 2003 has been challenging yet satisfying. I would like to thank my fellow Coaching Coordinator and partner, Kerrye, and a full report on her efforts and those who have assisted us is covered in the Coaching Coodinator’s Report.

Finally, thank you to my fellow Committee and Sub-Committee members, who continue to demonstrate a level of energy and pride in the club and in their contribution. I thank them all and those supporting the sub-committees most sincerely for giving so much of their time and for working so hard for our common goal. You obviously all have a similar vision to Kerrye and I in seeing Budokan reach great heights in Australian Judo and still remain a family-oriented club. At the same time, I hope that we can persuade many more parents and members to become involved in the running of the club.

We look forward to more training and more socialising next year, to travel and grow together, and to reap the rewards of hard work both on and off the mat.

Rob Katz
24th November 200