Drake Judo Club celebrated it’s second birthday this weekend with, what is fast becoming, it’s traditional birthday party and inter-club festival.

Helped along with their wonderful team of Committee members and volunteers who willingly moved mats, set up tables, downloaded scoring programmes, moved podiums amongst other tasks, they successfully organised over 70 athletes who were eager to take to the mat.

By 10:30am all athletes were ready to take to the mat across the ages of 5-50 from all Drake Judo Club sites including Plymouth, Tavistock, Ashburton and Tavistock School.

Drake Judo Club Vice President Christine Gallie 7th Dan was on hand to present awards to all winners along with the two recently achieved Dan Grades.

Coach Ross Taylor said “Many of us oldies think of the very first Lifecentre Vs Tavistock Team event when we were still members of PJC  as the ‘birth’ of DJC. One of the things that struck Charles and I at that original event(with its 10 attendees) was that it fostered a wonderful club and social atmosphere, a feeling of togetherness that we hadn’t banked on.”

“I’m pleased to say that this continues to this day, everyone gets an opportunity to chat to each other(including parents), players who perhaps do not train with with each other on a weekly basis get to have a ‘pull-around’ and most importantly our younger players can see the development that they will themselves go through throughout their Judo pathway via the achievements and demonstrations of our older juniors”