Club Spotlight: Jidel Judo 93
The JudoScotland Club Spotlight is a place to celebrate the hard work of our member clubs up and down the country and for this latest edition, we hear from a club with nearly thirty years under its belt who have established itself in its community with a strong club philosophy, Jidel Judo 93. We caught up with Head Coach Jonathan Imrie to find out how the club is getting on.
The last few years have been difficult for everyone, however, since November 2021 your club has seen incredible growth of 203% tripling its size. We know that this type of growth takes hard work and as a club, you have been busy delivering taster sessions, but how did the opportunities come about for you?
“Partnership working was helpful to our response, when the schools reopened again for taster sessions after lockdown because we had JudoMark, we had everything in place and were ready to go. The partnership with Active Schools meant that we could get into schools, the reaction from the children to the tasters meant that the headteachers asked us to come in to deliver two sessions a week during term time. This success didn’t happen because we were ‘so good’ it happened because as a club we had everything in place and were ready to go.”
What do you think makes your taster sessions a success in recruiting new members?
“Taster sessions are hard work and we have learnt from how our tasters have failed in the past. For Jidel the success of our tasters is down to our taster team of me, Tomi and Del. I have the experience, the sensei, whereas Tomi and Del are more relatable role models to children. Tomi inspires young girls as she doesn’t look like the perception of ‘someone that does Judo’ which helps to break down some of the barriers affecting young women in sport. Whereas Del brings the cool.”
“We have also worked out that 40mins is the ideal time for a taster as it gives you time to make it about fun, not just the judo content which can sometimes be too much for a beginner's session.”
“However, getting members in is only half the battle, retention and keeping members engaged is where the hard work really begins. For us, retention is about creating better people, when we get them in, we work with them as individuals and any podium success is a by-product of what we do. This speaks to parents who make decisions based on their children's happiness and development.”
What practical things do you do as a club to help keep your members engaged?
“The more JudoScotland or other club events we do, the more engagement our club members have with judo which helps their development and will mean that they stay involved with the club longer. So, we ask ourselves is this a good event? will it make my judoka happy? When the why of an event buys-in to our club philosophy it makes sense and if the governing body or other clubs are prepared to do the heavy lifting of running an event, why would I not get involved?”
“Not every JudoScotland initiative will work for every club, but this is how we do it. Our business model is going to be different to our colleagues at other clubs across the country but if together we can create a million Judo fans in Scotland, we will be one of the biggest sports in the world!”
We are always thrilled to hear good news stories from our clubs and members and have been delighted to hear great examples from our partners at Active Schools as well as the story our JudoScotland membership data tells. If you have a story you would like to share email rosannawood@judoscotland.com.
Jubilee Bank Holiday: Office Closure
Due to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday, the JudoScotland office will be closed on Friday 3rd June 2022.
The Office will close at 4 pm on Thursday 2nd of June and reopen on Monday 6th of June.
We Are Hiring!
Are you looking for a new challenge within a fast-paced Scottish Governing Body of sport?
We are looking for two enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join the Business Support Team at JudoScotland who will provide excellent customer service and support to the wider Judo community.
We strongly believe that the Judo Moral Code of courtesy, courage, friendship, honesty, honour, modesty, respect and self-control, should guide us as an organisation as we continue to support the growth of Judo in Scotland.
As an integral part of the team, our Membership Relations Administrator and Membership Relations/Communications Administrator will be joining us at what is set to be an exciting period for Judo in Scotland and indeed sport in general as we head for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
If this sounds like a role for you, then click on the links below for a full job description and information on how to apply:
Membership Relations Administrator
Membership Relations/Communications Administrator
Three Scottish Cadets Selected for The European Judo Championships in June
Three Scottish Judoka have been selected to represent GB at the European Judo Championships Cadets in Porec, Croatia 23rd - 26th June. Emma McCabe (44kg) from Titan Judo Club, Sunny Doig (57kg) from Just Judo and Ross McWatt (55kg) from Garioch Judo Club will be joining a team of fourteen Judoka representing Great Britain.
The Judoka's selection is a testament to their performance in particular following their results at the Fuengirola Cadet European Cup 2022 in February. JudoScotland would like to wish the team the best of luck at such a prestigious competition
Full details on the event can be found here.
Billy Cusack Awarded International Judo Federation Master Coach Award
JudoScotland is delighted to share that Billy Cusack has been awarded the prestigious International Judo Federation Master Coach Award in recognition of his dedication and hard work in Judo.
National High Performance Coach Euan Burton commented "Following the nomination by British Judo we are delighted that Billy Cusack has been awarded the IJF Master Coach Award. Billy has decades of experience coaching at the international performance level and has coached for GBR at European & World Championships & the Olympic Games. During that time he has coached multiple judoka to European, World & Olympic titles and medals. It is therefore fitting that he receive this award."
Everyone at JudoScotland sends their congratulations to Billy for this incredible achievement.
Three Scottish Judoka Selected to Represent GB at the European Championships
Three Scottish Judoka have been selected to represent Great Britain at the European Championships due to take place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 29th April – 1st May. Scots Dylan Munro, Alex Short and Stuart McWatt will join a team of seventeen Judoka in the first championships of the Paris 2024 Cycle.
Stuart McWatt (81kg) will make a welcome return to the GB Judo team after injury ended his hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Alex Short (-66kg) will make his debut at a European Championship following his gold medal win at the Dubrovnik European Cup in October 2021. Dylan Munro (-60kg) will also debut as reserve after his silver medal win at the European Open Malaga in October 2021.
Euan Burton, Scottish High Performance Judo Coach said; “I would like to congratulate Dylan, Alex and Stuart on their selections for the 2022 European Championships. JudoScotland are exceptionally proud of the hard work they continue to display and their selections are a representation of the performances they have delivered over a season where the depth and quality of international fields has been incredible as all European senior judoka return to international competition following the pandemic.”
“Stuart will return to the major stage keen to step on the podium and improve upon his multiple Top 7 finishes at previous junior and senior European Championships whilst Alex will finally make his senior championship debut after having been selected previously for the pandemic hit 2020 Europeans.”
“Although a potentially frustrating position to be in, the nomination of Dylan Munro as reserve at -60kg is certain recognition of his continual improvement and multiple podium finishes on the European Tour in 2021/2022.”
“We at JudoScotland would like to wish them and the entire GB team the very best of luck at this prestigious event.”
News From The Chair
Dear JudoScotland Membership,
As JudoScotland Chair, I wanted to take the opportunity to update the membership periodically on what we are doing here at JudoScotland. Most of you are aware that our new CEO Judith McCleary is now in office as of the 25th of April and I am sure you will join me in wishing her every success in the role. Before taking up the position Judith took the time to meet with our Honorary Vice Presidents Jim Feenan, Rick Kenney OBE and Colin McIver, as well as Honorary President Dr George Kerr CBE. She also personally met with all the JudoScotland Board and staff members to get to know the team before starting. On her second day in the role, Judith joined 15 clubs from across the country at the virtual ‘coaches café’ where she chatted with coaches hearing about their thoughts, concerns and vision for the future of Judo in Scotland.
Our next Board meeting will be held on the 31st of May, and we are pleased to welcome British Judo who will present their new strategy to Scottish Clubs from 6:30 - 7:45 pm, please let us know if you can make it before Friday 20th May. JudoScotland will be starting our own consultation process with clubs soon as Judith and the Board lead on the development of the new strategic plan, we welcome all input from clubs and encourage you all to get involved in the process.
May also marks an exciting month for Commonwealth Judo, as we will be announcing who will represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this Summer. A rare opportunity for Judoka to compete under the Saltire, Birmingham 2022 will mark the return of Judo following our historic medal haul in Glasgow 2014 and the first time it will feature as a core sport. We look forward to sharing the news of who has made the team later this month following ratification from Commonwealth Games Scotland.
With our tournament programme starting to ramp up, we look forward to seeing you at this weekend's Clyde Grand Prix and next weekend’s Keizoku 2022, I am sure I speak on behalf of all JudoScotland staff that we would be delighted to catch up with you at these events.
As the newly appointed Chair, I hope to make these communications a regular feature and look forward to keeping you updated with all the exciting things happening in Judo in Scotland.
Kind regards,
Marc Preston
JudoScotland Chair
JudoScotland Board Update
Due to operational changes at Board level, the JudoScotland Board of Directors has formally appointed Vice-Chair, Marc Preston, to the role of Chair until the 2022 AGM later this year. Marc has been Acting-Chair for the past 12 months.
This appointment coincides with an exciting new start for JudoScotland as the organisation welcomes new Chief Executive, Judith McCleary, who will take up the post at the end of April.
Read the full story of Judith's appointment here.
Easter Office Closure
The JudoScotland Office will be closed Friday 15th & Monday 18th of April for the Easter Bank Holiday.
The Office will close at 4pm on Thursday 14th of April reopening on Tuesday 19th April.
Commissioner Bruce Adamson Visits Second Judo Club on Roadshow
The Children & Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, Bruce Adamson, visited Carnegie Judo Club and Fudog MMA dojo on Tuesday 22nd March 2022 to meet young people from Woodmill High School as part of his roadshow visits. Carnegie JC delivers the Yellow Belt Challenge programmes on behalf of The Fighting Chance Project (Scotland), a charity established in 2014 to bring the benefits of judo and the judo values to young people who would not usually have the chance to experience judo.
The Commissioner spent all morning with two groups of S1-2 pupils who take weekly judo classes—speaking with them for their views on many of the issues affecting young people today. Together with Jim Feenan and Andy Swinburne, Bruce presented each person with their JudoScotland licence, 1st Mon certificates and red belts.
The Commissioner’s visit was the second to a JudoScotland member club, having recently visited Edinburgh Judo Club. His recent visit to Carnegie JC gave him a chance to see how judo can be used to help young people who may have social, emotional, or behavioural issues or other additional support needs.
Coach Jim Feenan added, "We were delighted to have Bruce and his team with us to see first hand how judo can help young people improve their lives and educational outcomes but also the challenges facing clubs and small charities working within the community."