TWENTY young players from Wymondham Judo Club took part in their first competition of the year, the Martham Junior Invitation event for players across Norfolk and Suffolk.

TWENTY young players from Wymondham Judo Club took part in their first competition of the year, the Martham Junior Invitation event for players across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Matched into weight groups, the club normally has an even spread across the categories but on this occasion some categories saw three or four Wymondham players in them, whilst several others had none. However, every Wymondham player earned a medal.

Coach Chris Claydon said: “We always enjoy the Martham events, they hit the right balance between friendliness and competitiveness.

“Once again the players did themselves proud and it was great to see a good mix of new and experienced players from the club attending.

“In some respects it was a shame that our players had to fight each other but they did produce some of the most exciting matches of the day.”

A victim of its own success, the club, which runs six classes per week, is completely full and has recently reluctantly taken the decision to even stop having a waiting list.

Claydon said: “All six classes are at capacity and we simply don't have any further opportunity to expand. Our player retention is very high, and we get two or three inquiries for new students each week. We continue to explore new ideas, but realistically a dedicated judo hall or building is the only way we could cater for the demand - and we are constantly looking at ways to fund this option.

“We're sorry that we cannot take new players at the moment, but we will advertise when we have room for a new beginners' class.”

Martham results - U8s categories: William Booth gold, Sam Parish and Liam Marshall bronze; Taylor Morris gold, Joseph Bridges and Thomas Marshall bronze, and Michael Godden and Martin Merryweather took silver and bronze in their category too. Oliver Purllant took silver and Maddie Saunders bronze.

U16s below-yellow-belt category: Megan Thomas took gold in her group, whilst Max Webb took silver in his and Owen Sully bronze.

U16s all-grade level: boys U30kg category saw four Wymondham national-level players who normally compete in three different categories meet and completely dominate their remaining opposition. Alexander Tonnison took gold, Jack Purllant silver, and twins Toby and Thomas Goodrum the bronzes.

The girls' U48kg saw a similar situation as close and hard-fought matches between them resulted in Kiya Claydon winning gold to River Morris' silver and Fenn Morris' bronze.