Judo: Paying a price for success.

threesixtyfive | day 161, originally uploaded by Sybren A. Stüvel.

Victory in the European club championships could place Britain's leading competitive side, Wolverhampton, in serious financial difficulties according to their coach Malcolm Abbotts. Abbotts, speaking on his way to Belgrade, where four of the club's boys are fighting in the European team championships this weekend said that having convincingly beaten the top Dutch side, Ninjemeg, in The Netherlands last week, he was hoping for a home draw in the second round on November 1.

'But I now understand that even if we are drawn at home, we are committed to paying for flights, accommodation and subsistence for three officials,' said Abbotts. 'Had I known this, the Wolverhampton Judo Club would not have entered the championships. '

'No financial assistance has been allocated by the British Judo Association, so we have approached our local council for help - and if we don't get that, I don't know what we will do. It is obviously going to get more difficult with each round but I can't tell my boys to go out and lose. ' Copyright (C) The Times, 1986

Source Citation
"Judo: Paying a price for success." Times [London, England] 4 Oct. 1986. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Dec. 2009. .

Gale Document Number:CJ117816931

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