For more than 60 years, the Nanaimo Judo Club has given local families a place to train, compete and build a community. Now, with its longtime home lost to fire and the new season approaching, the volunteer-run club is running out of time to find a new place to practise. “It’s just devastating,” club president Nathan Eby said. More than 130 members have been displaced, and the club is searching for an affordable space of roughly 2,000 square feet that can accommodate its athletes and equipment. Since the fire, the club has been working with the City of Nanaimo and the school district to find a temporary home. Other martial arts organizations have also opened their doors to help members keep training. But finding a suitable space has been difficult. The club says many of the available facilities are already being used for existing programming. Other options would require the club to share space, meaning large amounts of equipment would have to be set up and taken down regularly. Now, the club is expanding its search to commercial properties. That comes with a major concern: cost. The Nanaimo Judo Club is a nonprofit society run entirely by volunteers, and Eby says keeping membership affordable has always been a priority. “We’re not looking for a free place,” Eby said. “We’re just asking if there is a space that can keep our people.” For years, the club has benefited from an affordable rental arrangement that has helped keep its costs down. A move to a more expensive commercial space could mean higher membership fees, something Eby says could put the program out of reach for some families. “A lot of our families may belong to a lower-income demographic,” he said. “We don’t really want to spike our prices.” The club is now appealing directly to the community. Eby says it is hoping business owners, property owners or anyone else who knows of a suitable space will get in touch. The club is also raising money to help cover the additional costs it could face while displaced, including potentially higher rent. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the club through the transition. “We would use GoFundMe to try and cover a more expensive location,” Eby said, “just to try and get us through until our building can be repaired.” The club is also planning a fundraiser at Maffeo Sutton Park on Sunday, Aug. 23, from noon to 5 p.m., featuring judo demonstrations and local food vendors. The fundraiser is another way for the club to stay connected with the community that has supported it for decades. For Eby, finding a new space isn’t simply about keeping a sports program running. Judo has become a support system for generations of families, with members travelling, training and competing together. “Judo is something that’s so good for everyone’s physical and mental health,” he said. “And that’s definitely suffering with all of our membership right now.” The club is hoping someone in Nanaimo can help it get back on the mat before the new season begins.
