Last week was judo’s return to Crystal Palace National Sports Centre after a long time away due to the extensive renovations going on.
It is not the easiest venue in the world to get to, being deeply set in London, and I found it slightly annoying to be able to get to the outskirts of London extremely quickly, then spend an age travelling the last 10 miles or so through congested city streets.
I have not been to this venue before so am missing out on the history attached to it for judo. Many have told me how no other venue has the same levels of atmosphere. The London Youth Games did have a good atmosphere but that was a borough team event so I would have thought the same would have applied anywhere else.
It was explained to me how the seating is flexible: it can go both sides of the mats which will certainly help with atmosphere. This wasn’t used on the day. However, how feasible will this be with the new mat area specifications? That three metre safety area requirement does reduce how many mats can be run. The first proper test of all this will be the upcoming Kent International which is one of the highlights of the UK judo calendar.
Renovation is also a bit of a strong word. The work has primarily beeen to remove asbestos and make the electrical wiring safe. The venue does not feel fresh and new, and it suffers from ‘sprawling building syndrome’ – I went down the wrong set of stairs and just ended up in a maze of corridors leading to fire exits. The heating from the swimming pool impacts the temperature in the judo hall, and so on.
So, K2, Crawley. This hosted the Southern Area Junior & Youth Championships at the weekend. It’s a modern centre with great transport links: Within striking distance of the M25 and Gatwick Airport is just up the road. The whole place feels fresh and new and I managed not to get lost in any twisty corridors.
It feels like a better venue in every way. The hall configuration allows lots of seating and mats. Why isn’t it the preferred choice? It’s great!
Let’s see what happens at the Kent International this year, so I can savour the true atmosphere at Crystal Palace when the seating is fully configured… that’s if the new safety area rules allow it to be…