SAMURAI’S position as the best judo tournament organisers in the country has been confirmed by the news that the British Judo Association has asked them to run no less than five British national events over the next year and a half.

Having run the most successful British A Bands tournament (for players aged 10-12 years) and British Masters Championships last autumn, the club have been offered the chance to host this event again this year, an unprecedented move to allow the same club to run the event two years running.

The British Masters will be staged at the Glades Leisure Centre on October 18, with the A Bands the following day.

Meanwhile, the club has now also been asked to host the British National Team Championships, which will be at Walsall on July 5.

The British Schools Special Needs Championships is to be held at the Samurai’s own purpose-built premises in Zortech Avenue, widely regarded as the best venue in the Midlands ,and possibly the country, on September 13, and it has now been confirmed that Samurai have been selected as hosts for the British Kata Championships in autumn 2015.

Among the club’s own autumn schedule of events, one event of particular note is their girls’ Minimon Day on August 24, again at their Zortech Avenue base.

This event is being held as a charity event to raise money for the two-year old son of Jess Evans, a Kidderminster woman who died of cancer last year.

The club has run many charity events in the past, raising thousands for local causes such as Kemp Hospice and Riding For The Disabled, but have had to put their charity fund-raising on hold in recent years while they raised money for their own premises.

However, they now feel able to do at least one event for charity once more.

Any local firm who would like to sponsor the event should contact Andrew Haffner on 0776 1122977.

The club is also running a series of qualification courses for judo coaches and officials, having also hosted the BJA’s top coach award course last year.

Anyone who would like more details about judo or Samurai can call Haffner on 07761 122977 or visit www.samurai.org.uk