KENDAL Judo Club is appealing for cash to attract some of the world’s top athletes for pre-Olympic training.

Head coach Mike Liptrot wants to build four temporary cabins at the back of Kendal Dojo on Parkside Road Business Park to give up to 50 international athletes a place to stay as they prepare for the 2012 London Olympics.

The club is competing with cities such as Sheffield, Bath and Loughborough to host training sessions for Oceanic countries, America and the Great British team.

The accommodation would also be used by athletes to train before the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The venue will starting host training sessions for the British team from next spring, and Mr Liptrot said it was vital for the cabins to be built by April 2011.

He believes between £35,000 and £40,000 is needed to start building work. The club has traditionally housed visiting teams at Kendal Youth Hostel in Highgate, However, it is closing next April.

Mr Liptrot said: “This is nobody’s fault. The YHA have valid reasons why they can’t invest money in their site. We need to find a solution and we can’t just sit here. We have to be very professional about what we do and one of the problems is accommodation and making sure that’s right.

“The British team comes here 20 days a year and we have to make sure we keep that business up and that profile up. If we can’t host any camps because we have no accommodation then it takes a massive revenue stream away.

“It’s not going to have a massive impact at the back of the Dojo and very few people will be able to see it.

“It will be professional in its look. International athletes are coming and potentially staying with us so we need to be masters of our own destiny.”

Mr Liptrot said the accom-modation would be for athletes competing at the club, and possibly for other athletic and sporting groups but would not provide a youth hostel-type site.

He added that he believed planners were ‘reasonably positive’ about the idea after a meeting them last week, and there was potential for the site to become permanent after the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

If you wish to help, contact Mr Liptrot on 07708 968194.