History

The Club

Newbury Judo Club was originally formed in the late 1960's at the St. Mary's Hall in St. Mary's Road, Newbury mainly by a brown belt Judoka by the name of Bill Hill. Later the club raised funds and moved to it's present location at Almond Avenue.

The Club Dojo did not even exist on the present location (which was then a marshy field) until Jean Gilmour, (now Jean Beagley) and others members of the club managed to convince the bank to lend them the money to build it. The land was leased from West Berkshire Council. Then came the hard work. Every one of the members of the club and the parents of the junior members chipped in. It is impossible now to name all those who helped but we thank them all. Some were planners and others builders, electricians, plumbers and carpenters, But after the planning stage the first thing that had to to be done was to put in the foundations onto marshy ground. Then came the construction of the building itself. The whole project took months of hard work, the building itself, the electrics, the plumbing and so on until the club moved there in 1977.

The club is now self sufficient and has been for many years, it is affiliated to the BJA and the coaches are mainly dan grades who give their time voluntarily.

The current parents committee run the kitchen selling sweets and drinks, any profit they make provide items for the club e.g. crash mats etc.

All monies collected is reinvested in the club to make any improvements.