by Melissa Hills

Britain's top judo athletes are
calling Dartford home after British Judo opened its Performance
Institute today.

The centre in Cotton Lane,
Dartford, has been described by leader of Dartford Borough Council,
Jeremy Kite, as a massive coup for the borough.

Mr Kite said: "We have
accidentally built one of the best centres for elite sport in
England, I want Dartford to be known as the judo town. It is a
fantastic centre and club membership has doubled in the last two
years alone."

The new training centre brings
together Britain's elite judoka (competitors in the sport) under
the direction of Great Britain head coach Patrick Roux, formerly of
the French Judo Federation.

The launch saw the elite judoka
come together with regular users of Dartford Judo Club for a few
performances.

The British Judo Association
originally had plans to build an extension to the club for the sole
use of the institute, but when funding did not come it took the
decision to share facilities with the club.

It is hoped that the club's
arrival, three years before 2012, will bring many medals back for
Britain.

Until now national athletes have
trained at their local clubs and then only come together for squad
training sessions.

Member of Dartford Judo Club and
Olympic hopeful, Francesca Steggall, 19, from Sidcup, said: "It is
a real bonus being able to train together like this because we can
all push and encourage one another."