News

Date: 5th July
Venue: University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus, Gorway Road, Walsall, WS1 3BD

Whether you’re across the country or across the globe, you don’t have to miss a second of the action. Tune in to the live stream and experience the event as it happens, wherever you are.

JudoScotland and Team Scotland are proud to announce the appointment of Katrina Downie as the Team Scotland Judo Team Manager for the upcoming Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

With a strong history in Team Management Katrina brings a wealth of experience to the role. In 2022, Katrina served as Team Manager for the EuroHockey Club Challenge II, where she expertly coordinated all logistical operations. Her responsibilities included travel planning, insurance, media communications, technical kit checks, match administration, and health and safety compliance. She also played a vital role in athlete recovery and served as the primary contact for player and staff wellbeing throughout the tournament.

Katrina also played a pivotal role during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, where she was appointed HQ Manager for the NEC Village with Team England. In this capacity, she oversaw daily operations, ensuring athletes had seamless access to essential services such as medical care, accommodation, training schedules, and ticketing. Her collaboration with the Local Organising Committee and key partners ensured smooth coordination across accommodation, transport, and competition venues.

Katrina is already familiar with the judo programme as she currently works with sportscotland, providing Performance Lifestyle support for selected institute athletes across four sports; Judo, Sailing, Canoeing, and Women’s Cricket. Through this role, she works within a multidisciplinary team and in close partnership with national governing bodies to support athlete development and wellbeing.

Judith McCleary, CEO of JudoScotland, on the appointment said: “It is fantastic to have Katrina on board for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Her extensive experience across multiple sports brings a unique perspective that will be invaluable in a multi-sport Games environment. Her breadth of knowledge will ensure our athletes are supported holistically to help them perform at their best on the international stage.”

On her appointment Katrina added “I’m delighted to be appointed as Team Scotland Judo Team Manager for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. I look forward to continuing to work with the Judo programme to create a supportive environment in which athletes can excel, as we build towards the exciting opportunity of a home games.”

Elinor Middlemiss, Chef de Mission for Team Scotland, said: “With previous experience as a sport Team Manager, Katrina is well-placed to help deliver success for our judokas at Glasgow 2026. We’re delighted to welcome her and all the other newly-appointed team managers to Team Scotland as preparations gather pace for what promises to be a memorable home Games next year.”

Her appointment marks a significant step forward in JudoScotland’s preparations for Glasgow 2026, where judo will once again be a highlight of the Games.

A brief update from the JudoScotland Chair Marc Preston on activity in June.

June marked a pivotal month in the ongoing transition of the performance programme. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to the sportscotland judo coaching team; Euan Burton, Billy Cusack, and Takafumi Kitahara, for their exceptional dedication and invaluable contributions to the development of judo performance in Scotland.

As we transition to delivering the Performance Programme, you may have been aware, that the process for the two new roles of ‘Head of Performance’ and ‘Performance Pathway Support Coach’ have been live since early in the month. Personally, I’m delighted with the number of applicants we’ve had for both positions. We’re going through the application process now and the interviews will follow shortly. These two positions are critical for JudoScotland going forward, and our quest to build a strong, cohesive team. I truly believe this is a great opportunity to shape the future of the sport.

On 17th June I attended the British Judo Online Board Meeting. It was a very productive session, including an update on their restructuring, which is also nearing conclusion.

Huge congratulations to Lexi Buchanan, Coen Gilbert, and Vasiliy Menshykar for representing GB at the recent Cadet European Championships – a fantastic achievement. A special mention to Coen Gilbert, who brought home a bronze medal – a brilliant result and a great sign for future international success. Well done to Coen’s family, coach John Buchanan, and the JudoScotland Support Team – a true team effort!

And finally, good luck to the Scottish Teams and Veterans heading down to Walsall this weekend for the National Team Championships and British Veterans Championship!

Marc Preston, 7th Dan 

With just two weeks remaining, excitement is building and we are pleased to share the full Scottish team line-up for the National Team Championships, taking place on  5th July at the University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Sports Centre.

This event offers a rare opportunity for Judoka to represent Scotland under the Saltire, not as individuals, but as part of a united team. The atmosphere at the Team Championships is electric, creating a competitive environment like no other in the judo calendar.

Unlike individual competitions, the Team Championships showcase the power of collective performance, where support and team spirit play a vital role in success. Scotland has a rich history of success at the National Team Championships, and this year’s squad is ready to build on that legacy. With a strong mix of emerging talent and experienced competitors, based on ranking, the team is poised to make a powerful impact.

The British Veteran Championships will also take place on the same weekend, adding to the excitement. We’re ready to rally behind our team and bring the energy as we gear up for an action-packed weekend of Judo!

Minor & Pre-Cadet Boys

Keir O’Connor – Pro Judo | -42Kg

Finlay Whitelaw – Pro Judo | -46Kg

Murdo Cameron- Whitburn Judo Club | -46Kg

Jude Buchanan – Sporif | -50Kg

Jack Docherty – Pro Judo | -55Kg

Thomas McCall – Tams Brig Judo Club | -60Kg

Toby Ofokansi – Pro Judo | +60Kg

 

Minor & Pre-Cadet Girls

Betsy Doe – Pro Judo | -44Kg

Lucy Daly – Highland Budokan | -52Kg

Kristiana Campbell – Sportif | -57Kg

Lois Goldie – Pro Judo | +57Kg

 

Cadet & Junior Boys

Lewis Wegmann – Pro Judo | -50Kg

Harris McGrorty – Sportif |-50Kg

Coen Gilbert – Sportif |-55Kg

James Rutherford – Destination Judo |-55Kg

Joseph Buchanan – Sportif | -60Kg

Rhys Clydesdale – Judo Club Esprit | -60Kg

Vasiliy Menshykov – Garioch Judo Club | -66Kg

Jack MacLeod – Garioch Judo Club | -73Kg

Arad Ghafoori-Rad – Pro Judo | -81Kg

Kevin Gordon – Habari-Kan Judo Club | +81Kg

Jaden Calder – Judo Club Esprit | +81Kg

 

 

Cadet & Junior Girls

Stella Cameron – Whitburn Judo Club | -48Kg

Alexis Buchanan – Sportif | -52Kg

Rachael Gray – Destination Judo | -52Kg

Valentina Lawlor – Sportif | -57Kg

Zaffira Edwards – JudoScotland | -63Kg

Bronach Mary McGill – Sportif | -63Kg

Lilly McGarry – Sportif | +63Kg

 

Senior Men

James Gray – Destination Judo | -66Kg

Eden Heffernan – Pro Judo | -73Kg

Reece Edwards – Edinburgh Judo | -73Kg

Ben Fox Kennedy – Sportif | -81Kg

Cailin Calder – Judo Club Esprit | -90Kg

Jay Proctor – Yamarashi Judo Club | +90Kg

Gregor Miller – Tayside | +90Kg

 

Senior Women

Harriet Jones – Pro Judo | -52Kg

Sarah Smith – Destination Judo | -57Kg

Sunny Doig – Just-Judo | -63Kg

Sophie Wood – Sportif | -70Kg

Madeleine Allan – Sportif | -70Kg

Emily Ritchie – Judo Club Esprit | +70Kg

Nicole Wood – Bishops Stortford Judokwai | +70Kg

Official Supporters Club Hotel 

If you would like to come along and support Scottish Judoka, you can stay at the official Supporters Club hotel. Our Official Accommodation Partner, SportsHotels.com, are offering all our supporters an exclusive, discounted hotel rate at the Holiday Inn Birmingham North – Cannock by IHG. 

Take advantage of this exclusive offer and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow fans throughout the weekend. 

Gordon Brawley, co-founder of Irvine Judo Club, was presented with the JudoScotland ‘Volunteer of the Year’ after having been named the 2024 winner in recognition of his unwavering dedication to the club and the wider community.

This prestigious accolade is part of the JudoScotland Coaching and Volunteering Awards, a national programme celebrating the dedication and hard work of judo’s workforce across Scotland.

Since helping to establish Irvine Judo in 2010 alongside his brother William and friend David Frew, Gordon has played a pivotal role in transforming the club from a modest group of 25 members in a local community hall into a thriving hub at Parterre Hall in Central Irvine. His leadership and vision have helped the club flourish, both on and off the mat.

Gordon’s contributions extend far beyond coaching. A retired chartered construction manager, he spearheaded the club’s renovation efforts, turning a deteriorating space into a state-of-the-art dojo. “When I first came into the club it was just four walls, there was paint flaking off, water and dampness,” he recalled. “I did a design for the first phase and presented it to the council. I was then able to get funding through sportscotland, and we built it. But I always had an ambition to extend the dojo, to create a gym and new toilets.”

The recent expansion has allowed the club to better serve its members. “The new dojo means we can split the groups by age, because they learn a bit differently. It allows us to prepare the older juniors for joining the senior class, allowing them to transition. It allows for more coaches on the mat,” Gordon explained.

Over the years, Gordon has mentored six senior players through their Level 1 and 2 coaching qualifications and helped over 500 children and adults progress in their judo journey, many achieving black belts and competing at regional, national, and European levels.

His commitment to community is equally impressive. Gordon has led initiatives to welcome young refugees, hosted donation drives for local care homes, and introduced inclusive and girls-only classes. Under his guidance, the club has raised thousands of pounds for local charities supporting the elderly, children and those with disabilities.

“These are the things that motivate me,” Gordon said. “We devote a lot of time to local charity, elderly, children and those with disabilities. Over the past few years we have donated thousands.”

Reflecting on the recognition, Gordon shared, “Although volunteering can go unnoticed, it can be rewarding.” His humility and tireless efforts have not only built a stronger club but also a stronger community.

Gordon was presented his award at Irvine Judo Club by JudoScotland by Lead Wellbeing and Protection Officer Luke Struthers.

As we transition to delivering the Scottish Judo Performance Programme, we would like to share an update on the changes to our staffing structure.

As JudoScotland assumes responsibility for the Performance Programme, staff will be recruited by JudoScotland to provide opportunities and to deliver coaching across the entire performance pathway. Additional sportscotland support services will continue to be provided to institute supported athletes.

We’d like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to the sportscotland judo coaching team, Euan Burton, Billy Cusack, and Takafumi Kitahara, for their outstanding contribution to judo performance in Scotland. Their dedication, expertise, and support have been instrumental in the development of Scottish Judoka and the success they’ve achieved on the world stage, from Sally Conway’s bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics to Team Scotland Judo’s impressive performance at Birmingham 2022, and numerous international medals along the way. We are incredibly grateful for everything they’ve done and wish them all the very best in their next chapters.

JudoScotland has been the only sportscotland-invested Scottish Governing Body not directly delivering its own performance programme, until now. This shift marks a major and positive milestone. It will enable stronger alignment across the Scottish Judo community, fostering a more cohesive, athlete-centred approach as we look ahead to Glasgow 2026 and beyond.

We are currently recruiting for a Head of Performance and a Performance Pathway Support Coach to help drive the future growth and success of judo in Scotland.

Are you ready to help shape the future of Scottish Judo? We’re on the lookout for a passionate Performance Pathway Coach to join our team at JudoScotland. This isn’t just another coaching role, this is your opportunity to lead, inspire, and elevate the next generation of Scottish judoka, from Pre-Cadet to Senior levels, guiding them toward success on the world stage.

About the Role

As Performance Pathway Coach, you’ll:

• Coach and support judoka across all stages of our performance pathway
• Deliver inspiring, high-quality training sessions and workshops
• Work with athletes to set goals and track progress
• Build strong links with clubs and personal coaches
• Help organise camps, events and international opportunities
• Promote athlete wellbeing and support smooth transitions across the pathway

If you’re passionate about performance coaching and want to help shape the future of Scottish judo, this could be the role for you.

Download the application pack to find out more and apply.

If you are having trouble accessing the application forms through the PDF, please use the links below.

A brief update from the JudoScotland Chair Marc Preston on activity in April.

Dear Members,  

The month kicked off with a rescheduled catch-up involving myself, Judith and our Vice Presidents – Rick Kenney, Jim Feenan and Graham Campbell.  Unfortunately, our President, Colin McIver was unable to join us on this occasion.   As always, it was a highly productive chat where opinions were freely exchanged. 

A couple of weeks later, Judith and I had an online meeting with Markus Moser, Sporting Director of the Austrian Judo Federation.  It was an extremely positive meeting where Markus shared many insights re: the Austrian set-up.  I’d like to thank Markus personally for the time he spent with us. 

The month was wrapped up with our JudoScotland Board meeting where we had decided to concentrate on a couple of really meaty subjects, both of which will help JudoScotland to move forward in the best possible way. 

As Members are most likely aware, JudoScotland has now reassumed control of our own High Performance Programme, something I have personally been looking forward to for some time.  I truly believe it is the way forward for us and I am really excited about the programme going forward.  I’d like to take the opportunity to thank sportscotland for all their input over the years and for helping to facilitate the transfer of the programme back to us.  We will aim to ensure that we have it all operations properly solidified in the coming months so that we can give our athletes the best possible chance at the Commonwealth Games next year and going forward. 

It was great to see three Scottish judoka selected to represent Great Britain at the Cadet European Championships next month. Congratulations to Coen Gilbert, Lexi Buchanan and Vasiliy Menshykov  on their selection.  

The last weekend of the month saw the Granite City Grand Prix take place in Aberdeen, as always this was a jam-packed event.  

Looking forward, we’re all highly excited at the recent announcement that Tato Grigalashvili has been announced as the guest star at The Gathering later in the year.    Tato is a truly world class, triple world champion from Georgia. I had the pleasure of being in the arena watching him perform at the Paris Olympics 2024 and am absolutely sure that we’re in for a treat at the Gathering! Something for our judo community to look forward to and building on our world class line-ups at these events. 

There are so many positives that are happening in JudoScotland at the moment, and I am truly excited about our future!    

Marc Preston, 7th Dan 

JudoScotland has today opened nominations for the annual Community Awards, focusing on celebrating the incredible efforts of the judo community both on and off the mat. 

Previously named the Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering (COV) Awards, the Community Awards aim to celebrate and recognise the incredible efforts of the clubs, coaches, volunteers, technical officials and referees in the judo community.  

The format this year includes eight award categories, many of which have been featured in previous years, however, a new award for 2025 is the Young Person of the Year. This award will be presented to a young person (aged 16-24) who goes above and beyond to be a role model to young people and is a positive representative of the judo community.  Additionally, it seems only fitting that our Lifetime Contribution Award is now named after Dr. George Kerr, 10th Dan CBE, in recognition of being Scotland’s only 10th Dan and his exceptional contribution to our sport. 

The award categories are as follows: 

• Club of the Year will be awarded to a club that makes a significant positive impact in their community through their delivery, organisation, and development of judo. It also honours their commitment to promoting the core values of our sport and JudoScotland. 

• Club Coach of the Year celebrates a coach who has made a remarkable impact by fostering the growth of judoka, expanding access to Judo opportunities, and significantly increasing participation within their community.   

• Disability Coach of the Year recognises an outstanding coach working with people with disabilities. This coach will have provided inclusive opportunities by actively removing barriers to participation and taking time to deliver judo sessions to meet participant needs to help them develop their skills, build confidence and resilience, and develop a positive attitude towards sport and physical activity.   

• Player Development Coach of the Year will be presented to a coach who has made an outstanding contribution to long-term athlete development aligned with the JudoScotland Player Development Framework. 

• Volunteer of the Year credits a volunteer in a non-coaching role, who has made an outstanding contribution to their club, and the wider judo community.    

• Technical Official/Referee of the Year will be presented to a Technical Official/Referee who has made a significant contribution to the sport through their hard work and dedication and executed a high performance both on and off the mat.   

• The George Kerr Lifetime Contribution Award has been renamed this year in recognition of Scotland’s only 10th Dan and his exceptional contribution to our sport. It seems only fitting that our Lifetime Contribution Award is named after Dr. George Kerr, 10th Dan CBE. This award honors an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to judo over a sustained period as either a coach, technical official, referee, or volunteer. They are an exemplary role model to others and whose efforts have contributed to the growth and development of individuals and the wider judo community. 

• Young Person of the Year recognises an outstanding young person (aged 16-24) who goes above and beyond to be a role model to young people and is a positive representative of the judo community.   

The award nomination period will close at noon on Friday 4th July 2025. The award winners will be announced in August following a selection process by a judging panel.

JudoScotland’s CEO, Judith McCleary said: “We are really excited to be opening the nominations for our Community Awards 2025. Our sport would not be possible without the coaching and volunteer workforce in our clubs, and it’s important that we shine a light on the incredible work that they do to help our sport thrive in Scotland.  

“I’d like to wish the best of luck to all the award nominees, and I look forward to celebrating the successes of our winners later in the year.” 

More information on the Community Awards and how to nominate someone can be found here. 

We are thrilled to announce that Tato Grigalashvili, one of the most talented Georgian Judoka of all time, will be joining us at The Gathering 2025! Join us for an unforgettable weekend of judo on 13th & 14th September at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow.

Achievements: 

🥈 Silver Medallist – Paris 2024 Olympic Games 

🥇 3 x World Champion 

🥇 3 x European Champion 

🏅 17 IJF World Tour Medals 

  

Known for his explosive throws, unorthodox gripping, and relentless fighting spirit, Tato embodies the powerful and dynamic Georgian style of judo. 

This is a rare and incredible opportunity to learn from one of the sport’s true greats — an experience guaranteed to challenge, inspire, and elevate judoka of all levels! 

A Fresh Look for The Gathering 2025 

This year, The Gathering has gone through a bit of a transformation! We’ve listened to your feedback and made some exciting changes to improve the weekend experience. 

New Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow 

To welcome even more judoka, we’re moving to the world-class Emirates Arena for 2025. This bigger venue means more space, more judoka and more opportunity. Open to judoka aged 12 and up of all levels. 

Evening Social Returns! 

The Gatherings popular evening social is included with all tickets for over 18s. 

Time: From 8:00 PM 

Venue: Berlinkys, 396 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD 

A great chance to unwind, connect, and celebrate an incredible weekend of judo. 

Accommodation  

With the move to Emirates Arena, there will be no on-site accommodation. However, our official accommodation partner, sportshotels, offers a variety of nearby options to suit every budget. 

Access the JudoScotland Platform Here. 

Search for hotels using the following postcodes Emirates (G40 3HG) or Berlinkys (G2 3JD) 

Important Notice 

Please note that the JudoScotland Gathering is a participation-only event. To ensure a safe and focused environment for all judoka, there are no designated spectator areas. We thank you for your understanding and support in helping us create a positive experience for everyone involved. 

Additionally, the evening social event is strictly for individuals aged 18 and over, in accordance with licensing laws in Scotland. Identification may be required for entry. 

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to welcoming all registered participants to the event.