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Red Deer Judo Club seeks permanent home

Dough for the Dojo
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Tenzen Brochu, 12, and Kali Caron, 12, compete in Red Deer Judo Club’s Throw-A-Thon at Parkland Mall held on Saturday.

Red Deer Judo Club wants a permanent place to call home by its 50th anniversary in 2018.

A capital campaign — Dough for the Dojo — has begun. On Saturday the club hosted a Throw-A-Thon at Parkland Mall to help raise money.

“We have moved 16 times in 15 years which is a lot for volunteers,” said club vice-president Cobralin Brochu.

“We need a permanent home that’s ours, where we don’t have to move mats every day.”

The club, also known as Aka Shika Judo Club, has been renting space for two years from the Goshinkan Jujitsu Club near Burnt Lake Trail.

“We have 53 members right now and we’ve been turning people away because we don’t have the space,” Brochu said.

She said there’s also no storage or office space in the current location.

Club president Al Schaefer said over the years the club has worked with the City of Red Deer to find space at Collicutt Centre, Pidherney Curling Centre, and most recently North Red Deer Community Centre. But each time space for the club has been eliminated from those projects.

“It’s been an interesting journey as they say,” Schaefer said.

“The club is certainly prepared and willing to contribute whatever is required of them financially, work in kind, whatever is needed. We’re not looking for a gift.”

He said Red Deer is the only city of its size in Alberta without a judo facility and the club has had to turn down opportunities to host provincial tournaments.

The club says a proper training facility would attract judo events to Red Deer which would economically benefit the city.

For more information on the club visit reddeerjudo.ca.

szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com