News

The JudoScotland Community Awards are our National Awards recognising the hard work and dedication of the Judo workforce in Scotland.  

This year we have been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of award nominations celebrating individual contributions to our sport, it has been our busiest awards yet with 126 nominations across the eight categories! 

We look forward to visiting the clubs of each of our 2025 winners soon to present them with their awards.  

“Every Thursday evening they welcome along the participants to the Junior & Senior sessions whilst parents and carers are welcomed into our break out area where we provide tea, coffee and home baking. This has enabled the parents and carers to build a community of support and understanding.” 

“What stands out most is the welcoming and safe environment Gary has created. Children, teenagers, adults, and individuals with additional needs are all treated with the same care and respect. The atmosphere at Cluarankwai is one of belonging, and that is because of Gary’s leadership and values.” 

“Antony’s patience is evident as he works at the student’s own pace, ensuring that everyone feels supported and valued. His enthusiasm is infectious and inspires students to push beyond their perceived limits. By embodying these qualities, Antony fosters a positive and effective learning environment for students with disabilities, empowering them to thrive and achieve their full potential.”

“Claire provides a wide range of development opportunities, from club sessions to regional and national competitions, training camps, and bespoke development days. She actively encourages judoka to push their boundaries and exposes them to high-performance environments that accelerate their growth.” 

“Kirsty has from the onset and continues to inspire as a positive role model for all participants and her peers. She has taken many a fledgling under her wing providing a calm and supportive role for bringing others of all ages into officiating. On speaking to those she has inspired and taught, she in one of the main reasons they have continued to be involved in officiating and always look forward to being in her company.” 

“Simone is a dedicated volunteer at Hamilton Judo Club Inclusion, where she serves as club secretary and actively participates in the Disability and ASN (Additional Support Needs) sessions. Her volunteer work creates valuable opportunities for disabled adults and young people across South Lanarkshire to engage in sport, promoting improved physical and mental wellbeing.”

“Amy’s influence is deeply felt across all levels of the club’s community—from the youngest Judoka taking their first steps onto the mat to aspiring athletes entering the competitive arena. In addition to her work at Tams Brig, Amy also coaches her university Judo team, balancing her responsibilities with a high level of professionalism and drive. Her dual involvement in grassroots and university Judo reflects her versatility as a coach and her broader commitment to the sport’s development.”

“For over five decades, Peter Gardiner has been a beacon of inspiration and excellence in the world of judo. His dedication to the sport has shaped the lives of countless children and adults, instilling confidence, discipline, and a lifelong love for the sport.” 

The search is on to find more than 3,000 volunteers to provide the first hello and the final goodbye at Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, as the volunteer application portal opens today (16th September).

From supporting athletes on venue during competition, through to being a welcoming and friendly face to hundreds of thousands of spectators and media, volunteers will be at the heart of the action next year when the Games return to Glasgow from 23 July to 2 August.

Glasgow 2026 is calling for people to ‘Get In!’ and support the host city to bring the Games to life, encouraging former volunteers and first-time applicants from all backgrounds across Glasgow, Scotland and the UK to apply. It’s good news for those who turned 16- years-old by 1 September 2025 as the minimum age has been lowered.

No experience is necessary, and full training will be provided so that volunteers can help the Games run seamlessly. Glasgow 2026 is also offering support to those with barriers to digital access through a partnership with Glasgow Libraries and its DigiPals programme, and Volunteer Glasgow and Skills Development Scotland are hosting drop-in sessions to guide people through the application form.

Phil Batty OBE, CEO of Glasgow 2026, said “Volunteers bring an energetic and friendly welcome to a major event. Since 2014, Glasgow has time and time again demonstrated that people really make this city and I know the volunteers in 2026 will rise to the opportunity.

“We’ve been asked since day one about volunteering and we’re very excited to open the application portal today. We are encouraging applications from people from all walks of life from across Glasgow, Scotland and beyond – no prior experience is required.

“The appetite to volunteer in the city is high and there’s lots of ways to get involved no matter what your interests are. It’s a great way to soak up the action, focus on your wellbeing and to be part of shaping a new era for the Commonwealth Games. This is a chance to say, ‘I was there’. So come and get involved and start your application today.”

To find out more information on how to get involved please visit the Glasgow 2026 website here.

This weekend, we were thrilled to welcome around 250 Judoka to the Emirates Arena in Glasgow for an unforgettable weekend of Judo. 

Now in its 13th year, The Gathering never fails to deliver top quality judoka from around the world and this year was no exception. Attendees learnt from three-time World Champion and Olympic medallist, Tato Grigalashvili.  

Grigalashvili is widely regarded as one of the most talented Georgian Judoka of all time, and he brought his signature explosive style to the mat, breaking down the techniques behind the Georgian Judo style for a group eager to learn, grow, and develop their judo. 

Coaching and Volunteering Manager, Paul McGuiness said “It’s been fantastic to welcome Tato to The Gathering. His explosive Georgian Judo style has brought a whole new energy to the event and offered a great contrast to the Japanese techniques we’ve focused on in recent years. It’s really added something special.” 

“But The Gathering isn’t just about coach development, it’s about the Judo community coming together, learning from each other, and sharing a brilliant experience.” 

Through his translator, European Junior Champion Irakli Goginashvili, Tato Grigalashvili shared “I am really thankful to have been invited to Scotland, and I am very happy to share my knowledge and experience with everyone here, the hospitality from everyone has been wonderful.  

“Judo is such a wonderful sport and the thing that surprised me the most about Scotland was that I walked into the dojo here and I saw 12-year olds and then 85-year olds who were all on the tatami and training together and doing judo together – it’s been brilliant to see.” 

We hope that everyone who attended the event had an enjoyable time and can take away some key learnings from their experience back into their club environment.  

Jidel Judo has recently become the latest club in Scotland to achieve JudoMARK accreditation status since the club accreditation scheme was updated in 2024.   

The purpose of the JudoMARK club accreditation scheme is to act as a tool for clubs to reevaluate their processes and procedures ensuring a continued and consistent commitment to maintaining the highest standards of Safeguarding and Wellbeing, People Development, Club Management and Governance. 

Jidel Judo used the process to review their procedures ensuring their members were at the centre of their decision making. Head Coach, Johnny Imrie spoke about the importance of achieving JudoMARK as a club: 

“I think for me, the best bit about going through JudoMARK after it got relaunched was it became a working document for the club. 

“As we were going through each section, we were getting to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the club, the things that we were doing well but more importantly the things that we needed to tweak and be better at, those areas of development.” 

“I think those areas of development that we identified and have improved since going through JudoMARK have been really key for us as a club. I think in the future it’s going to make us a stronger club so we can keep developing and working at all levels of judo.” 

At JudoScotland, our goal is to equip affiliated clubs with the tools and resources they need to create safe, inclusive, and welcoming environments for everyone who steps on the mat. JudoMARK presents an ideal opportunity for clubs to assess this.  

Sam Ingram, Club Support Officer, presented Jidel Judo with their JudoMARK plaque at the start of September: “We are incredibly proud of Jidel Judo achieving JudoMARK status. It is a clear symbol to members, parents, Active Schools and Local Authorities, that the club operates to a high standard and is committed to continual development and improvement for its members.” 

“We are beginning to see an increase in clubs beginning and completing their JudoMARK journey, which is brilliant to see. Having more clubs reach this milestone ensures that judo clubs in Scotland continue to be a safe place for people to thrive.” 

To learn more about JudoMARK and to find out how your club can get involved click here. 

We are pleased to present JudoScotland’s 2024 Annual Report ahead of our AGM on the 28th of September. This report highlights key achievements and milestones from 1st of January to 31st of December 2024.

At Kanokwai Judo Club, women’s judo is not just growing, it’s thriving. In 2025, the club took a bold step by establishing a new base at Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre, creating a safe and welcoming space for women and girls to train, connect and grow in confidence.   

Head Coach, Louise Renicks noticed that a lot of parents of the children attending the club wanted to take up judo themselves but there was an apprehension from the mums to join in the sessions compared to the dads.  

When the JudoScotland Judo Girls Rise Fund opened for applications, Louise saw an opportunity. Kanokwai became one of 12 clubs across Scotland to secure funding to run dedicated women and girls’ programmes. With a plan to run a six-week programme with sessions for over-8s followed by a senior women’s class. But a lack of space at their usual venue posed a challenge, until Louise had a lightbulb moment to use her local community hub, Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre.  

“I’m very local to here, I live across the road, so I know the manager, Willie. I had gone in one day to speak with him and told him: look I have this much to spend so can I rent your hall for 6 weeks?” 

That conversation sparked something bigger. The centre’s team successfully applied for additional funding from North Lanarkshire Council, allowing the club to expand the programme from six weeks to 27 weeks and have funding to purchase judo suits for the attendees and new roll-up mats for the centre.  

The Friday night sessions quickly became a hub of female judo activity. The environment was intentionally designed to be inclusive and supportive: 

“We try to make it all women as well, it’s a lady caretaker, it’s ladies that come along with their children and they can sit in a separate room and be looked after. They’re not in the hall making noise or anything so the ladies can really concentrate on their session for the hour.  

“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes they do need to step out and deal with something but that’s motherhood for you. You don’t get a lot of clubs that would maybe do that and that’s the whole purpose of it.” 

The impact has been profound. For many, the classes have become more than just a place to train, they’re a lifeline.  One participant Fatima Drammeh explained:  

“It has been a game-changer, it’s improved my mental health, improved my sleep, improved my confidence and I can have a laugh with all the woman in here. It’s absolutely amazing and I can’t miss a week, I’m here every week. 

“It’s really improved my confidence, the ladies here, I didn’t even know them before but now I will talk to them whereas before the classes I would have found that really hard to interact with people that I don’t know but now I can come here and talk to them about anything.”  

Another participant Lucy Yuen who had previously dropped out of judo due to a lack of suitable classes, echoed the sentiment: 

“I did judo for a few years, and it’s been quite a lonely journey so when I heard there was a womans only class I was very excited to come, and I feel very included. Having the chance to throw some women who are similar to my weight and age, that’s not something that is very usual for me.”   

As the programme wrapped up before summer, Louise reflected on its success:   

“I could sit here and give you a list of reasons as to why we did it, but this is a community club, and the point of a community club is to get people in off the streets, through the doors and enjoying judo.  

Interested in running a similar programme or applying for funding?
Contact Club Support Officer Laura Kirkhouse at laurakirkhouse@judoscotland.com for more information on the Judo Girls Rise Programme and support with fundraising applications. 

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

On Saturday 2nd August I had the privilege of meeting up with Hidetoshi Nakanishi, former World Judo Champion and world-renowned coach from Japan. We went for a meal, alongside our recently appointed Head of Performance, Alberto Borin and Performance Pathway Coach, Gary Edwards. We had a tremendous time catching up and remembering the time that Nakanishi spent in Scotland many years ago! The next morning he took a Technical Masterclass for JudoScotland at Ratho, and, during his visit he was also able to pick-up again with Dr George Kerr 10th Dan.

On 12th August I had an online meeting with British Judo to discuss some potential changes to the strategy for the next 7 years.

On 19th we had our JudoScotland Board Meeting. The Session was highly constructive and I’d like to personally thank Doc McKelvey, Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Gymnastics. He provided a fabulous presentation about his sport. Interestingly many of the challenges faced by his Board mirror our own and he provided some highly productive insights and ideas that we will take forward with the benefit of Scottish Gymnastics experiences.

Andrew Scoular, Chief Executive Officer of British Judo, was up towards the end of the month to meet with the Home Nation CEOs. I had the pleasure of meeting up with him and ex-Director Graham Campbell afterwards for a catch-up meal – super night had by all.

I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jason Moore and Neil Malone on their outstanding achievements in their recent Dan grade promotions. Neil was awarded his 7th Dan and Jason received his 6th Dan, both presented during the recent Kata course, very well deserved.

Then, on 28th August I was back in the JudoScotland offices where we filmed my Chair’s Annual Review of 2024 which will be played at the forthcoming AGM on 28th September. I’m really looking forward to linking up with many of you on the day, and I’m especially excited for you to meet our newly established Performance Team.

Marc Preston, 7th Dan 

Six clubs from the north of Scotland attended a Club Accelerator workshop in Inverness, the first of these UK-wide workshops in Scotland. 

The objective of the workshop was to bring clubs together to ignite conversations around club development and to think strategically about club sustainability and long-term goals.  

Invited clubs were encouraged to bring two to three representatives along to the day resulting in a great mix of key decision makers for clubs attending and engaging with the workshop from committee members and club leaders to coaches.  

The workshop was broken down into different themes to provide clubs with a broad perspective on various strategies they could pursue to enhance their sustainability. Such as exploring their club’s vision and mission, engagement with the local community, identifying different marketing channels and exploring their potential effectiveness, and discussing the importance of forward planning when it comes to developing their club. 

Sharing their thoughts on the day, Moira Stewart, treasurer of Highland Budokan Judo Club said: “It’s been really good today to get all the clubs from the North of Scotland together to talk through the different issues we’re all having and getting JudoScotland’s support on different approaches, techniques and skills that we can use to try and help our clubs grow and be more successful in the communities.” 

The day provided an opportunity to spark conversations with clubs to begin thinking more intentionally about ways to develop and grow their clubs. The workshop provided the opportunity for clubs to begin reflecting and reviewing what’s working and where there is scope to develop so that they can thrive both on and off the mat.  

Invergordon Judo Club Head Coach Damien Fenwick enjoyed collaborating with other clubs who are facing similar challenges to them: “Today was a brilliant day, we covered quite a lot about how we could become better as a community club, a lot of interesting stuff to take back to the club.”  

Representatives from High Life Highland attended the workshop to engage with clubs and explore the support they can offer, ranging from funding opportunities and coach education to building partnerships aimed at expanding sports programmes across the North. 

Hugo Crush, Community Sports Hub Officer said: “It’s always great working with Governing Bodies and to have JudoScotland in the Highlands. We’re trying to encourage more Sports Governing Bodies to come north so all the support for these guys is brilliant, it’s been an excellent day.” 

JudoScotland Club Support Officer Laura Kirkhouse said: “It was brilliant to see a variety of representatives from clubs across the North of Scotland come together and focus on the ‘off-the-mat’ aspects of club development – sharing ideas, learning from each other, and exploring practical ways to grow clubs. 

We want to thank Highland Budokan, Northern Judo, Invergordon Judo Club, Alness Judo Club, Evanton Judo Club, and Elgin Judo Club for their engagement in the workshop which we hope to bring to other judo communities across Scotland in the future.” 

If you have any questions or want to learn more about the Club Accelerator Workshop, please contact your Club Support Officer here.  

Ahead of this year’s AGM, we gave notice on the 29th of August for the nomination of one director to join our Board of Directors to help realise our strategic plan ‘Judo For All’.

Below you will find the eligible candidates who submitted applications by the closing date, along with their pen portraits outlining their skills and how they hope to contribute to the Board. The successful candidate will be elected at the JudoScotland AGM on the 28th of September.

To support our member clubs to be as well informed as possible, we are facilitating an online Q&A session with our candidates on Monday 8th of September at 7pm. This is a great chance for you to get to know the candidates and to ask questions. Registration for the session will close on Monday 8^th September at 12pm (noon) following which a meeting link will be circulated to attendees.

Iain Feenan 

Clubs supporting the application: 

Carnegie Judo Club  

Focus Judo Club

Richard Marsh 

Clubs supporting the application: 

Carnegie Judo Club  

GMAC Judo

All clubs that are eligible to vote will be contacted directly by Scottish Sports Association (SSA) on Thursday 11th September 2025. If you have any queries, please contact info@judoscotland.com.

JudoScotland is pleased to announce a major update to its nationally recognised  Mon Grade programme, marking a significant step forward in how young judoka experience progression and recognition on their judo journey. 

Following a strategic review of all three grading schemes, the Mon Grade system, being the largest in terms of membership, was prioritised for development. After extensive consultation with members and coaches, two key areas for improvement were identified: 

1. Simplifying the syllabus for better understanding 

1. Adding more value and meaning to the grading experience 

To address these priorities, JudoScotland collaborated with the Home Nations and Koka Kids to develop a series of interactive e-books. These resources are tailored for judoka aged 8 and above, providing a clear and engaging guide through each stage of the syllabus. 

New Resources and Rewards for Judoka 

As part of the developments, judoka will now receive exciting enhancements when completing a Mon grade, including refreshed certificates, badges, and a brand-new keyring reward system. At their first Mon grading, judoka will receive a mini judogi keyring and collect coloured obi charms as they progress, creating a visual and personal record of their judo journey. 

Tony Penfold, Head of Development at JudoScotland, shared: 

“We understand how exciting it is to progress through the grading system, and ensuring it remains consistent and fair is vital to the development of our sport. These enhancements are designed to make that journey more meaningful and memorable for every young judoka.” 

“The new keyring reward system offers a fun, age-appropriate way for judoka to share their love of judo and proudly showcase their progress. Meanwhile, the newly redesigned iron-on badges now feature a simple, easy-to-apply format, while the updated certificates help judokas track their progress and stay motivated on their journey.” 

The Mon Grade enhancements mark the beginning of a transformative journey for JudoScotland’s grading system. We’re excited to continue this evolution and look forward to unveiling the revised Kai and Kyu grade systems as development progresses.