News From the Chair
A Brief update from the Chair of some key events and recent news from December:
Hi Judo Community,
I can’t believe that this is the final message of 2022. How the year has flown!
One of the first major events this month was the Board of Directors meeting on 6th December. We’d previously asked any Board members who were interested in the role of Vice Chair, to make themselves known. I was delighted to see that, of the 7 available directors, 3 of them put their names forward. It’s great to see such interest in all areas of JudoScotland and people willing to step up.
And I’m delighted to announce that, after much deliberation, Gordon McCathie was selected to fulfil the role. Well done Gordon. I’m looking forward to working closely with you.
On 7th December, myself, Judith and members of the JudoScotland Team attended the Scottish Sports Awards at the EICC. Sarah Adlington and Hamilton Judo Club were both nominated for awards and made it to the final four in their respective categories, unfortunately, they missed out on the award on the night however it was fantastic to see Scottish Judo recognised on the Scottish sports stage.
We all enjoyed the get-together, and it was a pleasure to spend the evening with one of my pupils – Kirsty Marsh. She started as a 5-year-old at our Dunfermline Club and I’m very proud of the way she’s developed, and the fine person she’s grown into. This year she’s shown great resilience, coming through a major injury to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games – whilst studying AND coaching in the very hall where she started as a young judoka!
On 12th December we had the British Championships. Congratulation to all those who participated and what fabulous results – Scottish judoka won 47 medals (29 pre-cadet/cadet, 7 Junior and 11 senior). Very impressive team!
I’ve just written a year-end message to the broader JudoScotland team to thank them for all their hard work this year. I acknowledged that it’s been a challenging – but ultimately rewarding year. Change is never easy but I’m seeing a real willingness and openness across the piece to step up and to innovate. So well done to each and every one of them!
And finally, I’d just like to take the opportunity to thank our judo community – clubs, members, coaches, volunteers, families and the wider JudoScotland team for all their support this year. As I write this our membership is up to 97% pre-covid, an unbelievable recovery, with I’m sure more to come! It really does bring to mind that old Japanese proverb: Fall Down Seven Times, Get up Eight!
To close, I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Slainte from the Chair and let’s smash 2023!
Thanks,
Marc Preston, Chairman, 6th Dan
David Gibson Awarded British Judo Senior Examiner Position
Congratulations to JudoScotland Board member David Gibson 4th Dan who has been awarded the British Judo Senior Examiner position.
This has been a long and challenging journey for David as he was close to completing the qualification when the Covid-19 pandemic impacted our lives.
David’s determination to succeed in completing the qualification was apparent once Covid restrictions were lifted.
This qualification is very important for JudoScotland as David joins the small team of Senior Examiners who manage the Dan Grading contests in Scotland and assess the technical competencies and knowledge of the players.
David is also the organiser of the well-established monthly Scottish Masters training and coaching sessions and the force behind holding Masters National Promotion Examinations, to ensure our more mature players can compete against similar age groups.
We Are Recruiting: Talent Development Support Coach
JudoScotland are seeking to recruit a pool of Talent Development Support Coaches to assist in the delivery of the National Talent Development programme!
The main purpose is to deliver sessions to identified athletes in alignment with the JudoScotland Player Development Framework. Current Talent Development programme venues include Glasgow, Edinburgh (Ratho) and the North. The pool of coaches will deliver JudoScotland Talent Development sessions on agreed dates under the guidance of the National Talent Development Coach. The successful candidates will be expected to deliver session content and feedback to individual athletes, clubs, personal coaches, service providers and parents/guardians.
Applicants are asked to submit their CV along with a covering letter outlining their skills, personal qualities and experiences against the responsibilities and duties of the advertised role.
These should be emailed to hr@judoscotland.com with the subject header ‘TDSC/2022’ to be received no later than 9am on Monday 16th January 2023.
Merry Christmas from JudoScotland
As another busy year comes to a close, we would like to wish you all a very happy festive season. Our CEO Judith McCleary has recorded a special message to share what we have been up to in 2022. We look forward to seeing you in 2023!
New Coaches December 2022
Congratulations to our recently qualified coaches!
Coaches are at the front line of judo and are an integral part of our sport. We are pleased to announce that the following coaches have successfully completed their coaching qualifications and will go on to inspire Judoka to achieve their potential.
Achieving their Level 1 qualification:
Blair Paton – Whitburn
Matthew O’Neill – Invergordon Judo Club
Jocelyn Callaghan – Destination
Mitchell Ramsay – Sportif
Innis Bennett – Sportif
Alasdair Wedgeworth – Hibari Kan
Colin Barr – Hibari Kan
Callam Call – Focus
James Garvie – Tayside
Achieving their Level 2 qualification:
Reanne Wylie - Orkney
Allan King – Carnegie
Andrew Swinburne – Carnegie
Dominic Zacharias – Garioch
Matteo Carlier – Garioch
Xaviere – Hermant – Edinburgh Uni
Mark Goldie – Pro Judo
Liam Herbert – Glasgow Judo Club
Aidan Fairbairn – Sportif
Gavin McNeill - Edinburgh
Independent Director Vacancy
JudoScotland Is Seeking An Individual to Join Our Board of Directors.
We are looking for someone with expertise in one or more of the following areas: Finance, Data Intelligence, Digital Communications, Safeguarding & Welfare and Equality & Inclusion As the recognised national governing body for the sport of Judo, JudoScotland represents our members, clubs, individual disciplines and hundreds of qualified, enthusiastic and committed volunteers delivering Judo across Scotland. Our sport has an inherent ability to engender respect for others, a sense of fair play, and develops personal confidence and self-discipline within participants, whilst enabling those involved to develop themselves and contribute to a better society.
Now is an exciting time to join us as we embark on implementing our new strategic plan to best meet the needs of our membership and stakeholders.
Working as part of a team on the Board of Directors, you will be responsible for ensuring robust governance and finances of JudoScotland.
Your specific skills, knowledge and expertise will be used to provide strategic guidance and make a positive difference to JudoScotland.
To apply for this role, please email hr@judoscotland.com with a CV and cover letter demonstrating how you will impact positively on JudoScotland.
If you would like any further information on the roles, please contact our CEO at judithmccleary@judoscotland.com.
Sporting Chances and Police Scotland
Police Scotland and Sporting Chances have been working together to widen participation in Judo and to provide new recruits with valuable skills for the challenges ahead of them.
An eight-week introduction to judo for new police recruits was the brainchild of Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, Head of training for Police Scotland, who said, “We wanted to give the recruits constructive options for the use of their leisure time whilst training at our residential centre in Tulliallan. Judo is something that can stay with our new police officers as they embark on their career, both as a personal discipline and a way with which to connect to communities up and down Scotland”.
Sporting Chances and Projudo were delighted to design and deliver a structured program that introduces the new police recruits to the sport whilst working through a demanding 13-week training at the Police Scotland College. In order to make it all come together, coaches Jack, Gerry and Claire worked closely with Police Scotland staff members Jackie and Gavin to design a course to fit in with the timetable of the new recruits, and which was suited to the needs of the students.
The course put new students through their paces in 8 weeks to achieve their first judo belt, during which time they:
- Learned the basics of how to grip, how to fall and how to move like a judo player
- Stepped through the red belt syllabus, building skills in throwing, groundwork and basic Japanese terminology
- Developed a further range of skills to complement their Officer Safety training
Proceedings ended with a formal grading and award ceremony for those that choose to get more involved.
Having delivered the first block at the end of September, Pro Judo was delighted to report that it was a massive success. Over 100 recruits enjoyed a taste of Judo, with over 30 students signed up to achieve their red belts. All of the participants are to be congratulated and were all given useful information about how they can take their judo further - including a list of clubs local to their final posting destination.
The Scottish Police Recreation Association facilitated this initial block with generous kick-start funding and the Police Scotland Judo section was on hand to provide a warm welcome to the new judoka, making this project a truly combined effort.
Sporting chances benefit from its involvement with Police Scotland through sponsorship donations raised by the students. In addition to SPRA funds, the recruits raised over £2000 on this occasion. This will go towards the delivery of their wide-ranging outreach work.
As well as having great fun, the students gained confidence, made new friends and opened a gateway to resources and relationships that will help them with the difficult job they have ahead of them
Projudo is extremely proud of the achievements made by the recruits. Sporting Chances and Projudo are honoured to have been of some service to our Police force in Scotland whilst getting more eager participants into the sport. Having delivered the first block, they hope to work further with Police Scotland and make this an important feature of the world-class Police training program at Tulliallan.
Colin Woods Steps Down as Talent Development Support Coach
JudoScotland would like to extend our thanks to Colin Woods who, after 7 years in the role, has decided to step down as JudoScotland Talent Development Support Coach.
During his time in the role, Colin has delivered a thriving Wednesday night Talent Development Session that has gone from strength to strength. He has supported the development of Judoka to help them reach their full potential on and off the mat. A firm favourite with Judoka and Coaching staff alike, Colin will be missed in the role.
National Talent Development Coach, Gary Edwards, said " It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Colin. I can’t thank him enough for helping to run the programme, I have been able to put my full trust in him to run the East Wednesday Night session knowing that it is in safe hands. It will be a tough job trying to replace him."
Although Colin will be stepping down from the Wednesday Talent Development session, he still hopes to keep closely involved with the programme. JudoScotland would like to wish Colin all the best in the future and thank him for his dedication to the role.
Scottish Judoka Perform at the British Championships
Over the past two weekends, Judoka from across the UK have gathered at the EIS Sheffield for the British Judo Championships. The Championships are the pinnacle of domestic Judo in the UK and are a fantastic opportunity for the Judo community to get together.
Pre-Cadets and Cadets
On the first weekend, the Pre-Cadet and Cadets took to the mat, experiencing an incredible development opportunity as they faced competition from across the home nations. The results spoke for themselves with a total of 29 medals collected over the first weekend, not far off of the best result ever.
Juniors and Seniors
On the 10th & 11th of December, it was the turn of the Juniors and Seniors with some fantastic performances across the two days. The Scottish Juniors tallied up a total of seven medals with the Seniors following on Sunday with 11 medals.
Congratulations to all Scottish Judoka, their clubs and coaches.
View the full list of results here:
Thank you to the BJA for hosting a fantastic event!
Gordon McCathie Appointed Vice-Chair of JudoScotland
Gordon McCathie has been voted into the role of Vice-Chair by the Board at the December Board meeting. Serving on the Board for the past year, after being elected by the JudoScotland membership at the 2021 AGM, Gordon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.
Gordon commented “It is a great honour to be voted into the role of Vice-Chair. I genuinely think there is no better time, within the past 20 years, to be involved in JudoScotland. A strong professional relationship between, the Chair, CEO and Board is incredibly important for developing and growing the sport through positive change. Part of our legacy as the Board is to leave the sport and the organisation in better position, than when we join, and I hope to be held accountable to this task.”
We look forward to the direction and assistance to the Chair that Gordon will bring to the role.