Press Release: Back in May, Battle based Judo Club Westerleigh Judokwai was informed they had won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2015, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK; on the 31st October the club will be presented the award which pays homage to all the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into the club over the past 20 years.

Westerleigh Judokwai is a voluntary group from Battle who works in the community to raise awareness of inclusive judo. Westerleigh is a family driven club which has approx 100 athletes, 35% of which have a disability who train at least twice a week, fifty weeks a year. 

Westerleigh Judokwai is one of 187 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of awards handed out to groups have increased by over 60% from 2014, due to an increase in high quality applications, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.

The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

Westerleigh Judokwai will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex at the Royal Victoria Hotel in St Leonards-On-Sea, which will be followed by the Club’s Annual Awards evening which celebrates the achievements of all involved with club – Judoka and Volunteer, no one goes unnoticed.

Director of Westerleigh Judokwai Paula Everest, said: “We as an organisation feel very honoured to receive such an award, it recognises all the time that has been given voluntarily by the committee, family and friends. To find out we were being awarded the Queen’s Award in the year of our 20th Anniversary we feel is an amazing achievement”.

This award rounds off a pretty impressive year for the club with the club winning awards earlier in the year, and later, bringing back a new World Champion from the Special Olympic World Games in LA along with two Silver Medallists.