2022 Coaching & Volunteering Awards Open for Nominations
Is there someone at your club who continually goes above and beyond? Now’s the time to say thank you with the JudoScotland Coaching and Volunteering Awards!
JudoScotland are delighted to announce that the 2022 Coaching and Volunteering Awards are open for nominations! We are pleased to re-introduce our Coaching and Volunteering Awards for 2022 after a 2-year break from the pandemic! Our 8 award categories provide a unique opportunity to share the stories and celebrate those that have contributed to Judo in Scotland over the past 12 months.
Community Coach Award
The Community Coach Awards is for a coach who has supported the development of judoka and has significantly increased the Judo opportunities available and participation levels within their community.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- What does your coach do to make sessions enjoyable, safe and inclusive?
- How does your community club coach go above and beyond?
- Have they made your club part of the local community are they linked with schools or community groups? Perhaps providing sessions for specific groups within your community?
Disability Coach Award
The Disability Coach Award will be made to a coach working with people with a disability. We are looking for an individual who can evidence person-centred development leading to successful performance and/or sustained participation of those taking part.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- How does your coach create sessions that are enjoyable, safe and inclusive?
- What has your coach done to develop as a coach in order to meet the needs of those on the mat, do they look at opportunities to continually develop as a coach?
- Has your coach helped those taking part reach their potential?
Technical Official/Referee of The Year
The Technical Official of the Year Award will be presented to an Official or Referee aged 26 years or above who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to the role and the competition structure in Judo.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- Do they go above and beyond the role at events to help develop Judo in Scotland?
- Are they committed to evolving in the role and willing to take part in professional development?
- How has the person inspired participants and peers, are they passionate about helping others progress on the officiating pathway?
Pathway Coach of The Year
The Pathway Coach of The Year award will be made to a coach who has supported the development of judoka, significantly increasing the Judo opportunities available and achievement levels within their community.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- Does the coach regularly deliver quality sessions that enable those taking part in the sport to progress?
- Has the coach provided appropriate opportunities and experience, such as training camps, that support the development of the judoka?
- What have they done to support the holistic development of judoka? Looking at the physical, technical and behavioural development of the judoka?
Volunteer Award
This award will be made to a volunteer in a non-coaching role, aged 26 years or more, who has made an outstanding contribution to their club, the wider judo community or to the development of judo.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- Does your club volunteer continually go above and beyond organising the Summer BBQ, collating event entries or supporting club admin?
- Do they inspire and act as a positive role model within the club?
Young Coach Award
The Young Coach award will be made to a coach aged 25 years or younger. This award looks for young people who have invested in their development as a coach and have made a significant impact on the people they coach. The club will be a better place for having them in the team.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- What makes this young coach such a positive role model?
- What have they done to help those taking part reach their potential?
- Has the coach invested time and energy into their development by attending events such as The Gathering or looking at further study to develop their coaching?
Young Official Award
This award will be made to a Technical Official or Referee aged 25 years or younger, and recognises the hard work and dedication that these roles make to the competition structure; providing fantastic opportunities and experiences in judo.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- Do they go above and beyond the role at events to help develop Judo in Scotland?
- Are they committed to evolving in the role and willing to take part in professional development?
- How has the person inspired participants and peers, are they passionate about helping others progress on the officiating pathway?
Young Volunteer Award
This award will be made to a volunteer in a non-coaching role, aged 25 years or under who has made an outstanding contribution to their club or the wider judo community.
Things to consider before you nominate:
- Does your club volunteer continually go above and beyond organising the Summer BBQ, collating event entries or supporting club admin?
- Do they inspire and act as a positive role model within the club?
Anyone can nominate and celebrate the amazing work of the individuals that make our sport so special!
The closing date is Friday 30th September 2022
If you require the nomination form in a different format or require help in the completion of the form please contact rosannawood@judoscotland.com or call 0131 333 2981.
Five Scottish Judo Coaches Pass IJF Academy UCJI
Five Scottish Judo Coaches have passed the IJF Academy Level 1 Instructor and Undergraduate Certificate Judo Instructor (UCJI). Lee Calder, Chris Barry, Louise Renicks, Gary Edwards, and Euan Burton successfully completed the 13-week course which concluded with a week-long practical exam based at British Judo's National Training Centre in Walsall.
The UCJI, which is a new course for coaches to develop skills and explore techniques with IJF Academy experts saw 31 participants from 8 different countries take part. The course which took place over 13 weeks with continual theoretical examinations and a weeklong practical assessment of the execution of judo techniques, concluded this weekend.
Louise Renicks, who is currently participating in the British Judo Elite Coach Development Programme commented "The Course highlighted the dedication of each of the coaches to their craft.” She added “Everyone was there to support and motivate each other. Although hard work, it was a lot of fun and a great networking opportunity."
JudoScotland National Talent Development Coach, Gary Edwards reflected "This is the future for Judo Coaching, it took coaching back to the basics of Judo. It was a phenomenal course that took every coach on a journey and it is probably the best thing I have ever done as a coach."
JudoScotland would like to offer our congratulations to all Judoka who participated and passed this course, and we look forward to seeing how the learnings will trickle down into Scottish Judo.
Monica Lennon MSP launches Health and Wellbeing for all at Hamilton Judo Club!
Monica Lennon MSP launches Health and Wellbeing for all at Hamilton Judo Club!
The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the sports industry. To improve students‘ and parents' mental health and physical well-being, the disability Lead coach at Hamilton Judo Club, John D’Ambrosio has started a Health and Well-being session for adults of all ages and fitness levels, that includes active and regular exercises. While the parents of the disability /ASN students were invited and offered a safe space to talk about their concerns and share opinions.
On Tuesday 24th August Monica Lennon attended the club with Coreen Fulton, PA/diary secretary. Later, Stephen Sweeney CEO of VASLan joined the Wellbeing session. It was a great time for everyone, parents and coaches to talk to Monica and Stephen while Monica graciously presented one of the ASN students with his first grade.
The JudoScotland 2023-27 Strategy Consultation
Help us to shape the future of Judo in Scotland!
JudoScotland wants your views to help us shape an ambitious and exciting strategy for 2023-27.
Growing & developing the number of people involved in judo whilst contributing to a better society underpins the work that JudoScotland does.
By providing your input, you can help us focus on the areas where support is needed most, and where we can influence the greatest impact.
There are several ways you can get involved:
- We have an online survey open until 28th August and strongly encourage you to participate. The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and is anonymous. Click here to take part. Summaries of our surveys and feedback will be shared with our membership as we continue to shape our strategy.
- We will also be hosting an interactive session to generate discussion and ideas for consideration. Our online session will take place on Wednesday 24th August from 7-8 pm. Booking is essential and will close on Tuesday 23rd August at 5 pm. Book your space here.
If you require the survey in an accessible format please contact rosannawood@judoscotland.com.
Kana Ebinuma Joins the Line Up for The Gathering 2022
JudoScotland is delighted to announce that two-time World Team Champion, two-time All Japan Champion, three times Grand Slam Champion and IJF World Masters Champion Kana Ebinuma will be joining the Line up for The Gathering 2022.
She will join an already stand-out line up including her husband and three-time World Champion Masashi Ebinuma. As well as The Gathering favourite Neil Adams MBE 9th Dan, Greg Valentine the lead physical preparation coach for JudoScotland and the sportscotland institute of sport, Dr Andy Dalziell, a child development specialist who co-designed the Better Movers & Thinkers programme.
Due to the popularity of this event, we have now sold out of residential spaces, however, we still have a limited number of weekend and day tickets available. Largs has a number of local offsite accommodation options so that you can still make the most of The Gathering 2022. Click here for more information.
News From the Chair
Hi all,
A slight delay in this month’s Chairman’s statement, but given certain other events competing for your attention, I decided to wait until after the Commonwealth Games to give my update.
And on that very topic, I’d like to congratulate the entire Scottish team and coaching staff led by Team Manager Euan Burton for doing Scotland proud. Our judoka, every single one of whom fought their hearts out. Personally, I’d like to say a very well done to all – and especially to Sarah Adlington, Finlay Allan, Malin Wilson and Rachel Tytler for medalling.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Judith McCleary and her team at JudoScotland for the incredible amount of work they did to coordinate all the various facets of the Games.
One such event was an evening we hosted for 75 guests at ‘Scotland House’ on Sunday. It was attended by JudoScotland colleagues, sportscotland, members of the BJA, representatives of the home nations and other commonwealth countries – as well as some of our athletes and their families. A grand time was had by all!
British Judo also hosted an event at the Games: this time for proud Scot, Colin McIver, who’s announced that he’s stepping down from his position at BJA. As most of you probably know, Colin was a first-class competitor, Chief Executive of JudoScotland for many years, manager of a highly successful Olympic team and, latterly, worked for a long period with British Judo. Many of the directors and professional staff from JudoScotland attended his leaving do – and all of us thank Colin for his exceptional contribution to judo in this country over the years and wish him all the very best in his retirement.
Special congratulations also go to Rick Kenney who has been re-elected as President of the Commonwealth Judo Association for another term.
Away from the Commonwealth Games, can I bring your attention to a brand new event in the JudoScotland Calendar – the Scottish All Stars Championship, which is set to launch at Ravenscraig on 4th September. This is a brand new type of tournament. By attending, Judoka can learn what it means to compete, to fight and to be challenged – but will also come away inspired, as the event will be delivered in a fun and very engaging way. All participants will be rewarded for displaying one of the judo values – courage – in stepping up and trying something different. We’re hoping that the All Stars Championship will become a permanent feature in our events calendar.
And finally, a couple of JudoScotland announcements.
First of all, we’re about to renew and upgrade our CARE system – which I know will make our officials, coaches and players extremely happy! And secondly, it’s great to be able to announce that we’re building up and strengthening the team in the office, and so I’d like to welcome along two new JudoScotland colleagues, Anna Hunter and Daria Fedorenko who will be joining the Business Support Team.
To sign off I wish you and yours a great summer and look forward to catching up with you in the very near future.
Regards Marc Preston, Chairman
Two Medals for Team Scotland on Day Three of The Commonwealth Games Judo
Another exciting day for Team Scotland Judo at Coventry Arena as Sarah Adlington retains her Commonwealth title winning Gold in the +78kg and Rachel Tytler winning Bronze in the -78kg at her first ever Games.
Sarah Adlington managed to retain her title as Commonwealth Game +78kg Champion! The first Scottish Judoka to retain a Commonwealth title, beating Tulika Maan of India in the final. She wins this title 8 years after years on since she first claimed it in Glasgow in 2014!
A fantastic start to the day for Sarah, beating Dianah Kana of Kenya by Nippon in the quarter-final. Sarah was able to secure her place in the +78kg finals by beating Abigail Paduch of Australia with a Waza-Ari.
It was a tough start to the day for Rachel Tytler (-78kg) as she lost out to England’s Emma Reid, who would later win gold, in the first round of the contest. However, she was able to make a come back in the repechage as she beat Hayley Mackay of New Zealand by Ippon taking her into the bronze medal fight. Moving into the Bronze medal fight Rachel faced Coralie Godbout of Canada, where she won by ippon within the first 30 seconds. An incredible achievement for this Commonwealth debutant.
It was also a difficult first round for Andrew McWatt in the +100kg as he lost out to Australia’s Liam Park. Moving into the repechage he was able to beat Giannis Antoniou of Cyprus by ippon moving him into the bronze medal fight. Unfortunately, Andrew closely missed out on a bronze medal losing out to Sebastien Perrinne of Mauritius by a Waza-Ari.
That marks the end of the Judo for Birmingham 2022. We would like to congratulate all Scottish Judoka on the tremendous achievement of qualifying for the team and their performance throughout the tournament. All 11 Judoka have done Scotland proud!
Commonwealth Games 2022: Day 2 Round Up
Day two of Judo saw the middleweights take to the mat. With just one Team Scotland Judo athlete, 19-year-old Billy Rodman fighting in the -73kg.
In an incredibly tough category for this Commonwealth debutant, Billy faced Australia's Jake Bensted in the first round. Although a very close fight, unfortunately, Billy was unable to get the better of Jake and lost out by a Waza-Ari.
Tomorrow three Team Scotland Judoka will take to the mat Rachel Tytler (-78kg), Sarah Adlington (+78kg) and Andrew McWatt (+100kg).
Two Medals for Scottish Judoka on Day 1 of Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games 2022: Day 1 Round Up
An exciting first day for Team Scotland Judo as Finlay Allan claims Silver and Malin Wilson wins Bronze.
Finlay had an outstanding day at his debut Commonwealth Games fighting his way through the early rounds of the -66kg beating Mauro Nassone of Mozambique, Steven Mungandu of Zambia, Jasleen Saini of India in the semi-final to come up against Georgios Balarjishvili of Cyprus. The final proved to be a nail-biting performance and although a close match, Finlay missed out on Gold to take Silver.
Alex Short (-66kg) and Malin Wilson(-57kg), both made it into the bronze medal fights where they faced tough opponents in Northern Ireland’s Nathon Burns and England’s Lele Nairne.
Malin took Bronze, defeating England’s Lele Nairne in Golden Score. The road to bronze wasn’t easy for Malin after a first-round win, she was beaten by second seed England’s Acelya Toprak pushing her into the repechage where she defeated New Zealand’s Qona Christie which put her back in the running for a medal.
Alex had a strong start winning his first two fights but unfortunately lost out in the semi-finals to Georgios Balarjishvili of Cyprus, who would later win Gold. Heading for the bronze medal fight, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Alex as he lost out to Nothern Ireland’s Nathon Burns.
Meanwhile, it was a tough day in the -52kg category for Kirsty Marsh and Kimberley Renicks. Kirsty Marsh started the day with a win against Mariel Kalomor of Vanuatu but lost out in the quarter-finals to Kelly Deguchi of Canada. Moving into the repechage Kirsty faced Jacira Ferreira of Mozambique for a chance at bronze but was beaten ending her run at Birmingham 2022.
Kimberley Renicks returned to the Commonwealth Tatami in the -52kg facing Sofia Asvesta of Cyprus. In the sixth minute of Golden Score, Sofia secured a win putting Kim out of the running for a second Commonwealth title.
David Ferguson and Dylan Munro faced a hard day of competition in the -60kg category. With a bye in the first round, David faced Daniel Rabbitt of Wales but was unable to secure a win to progress.
Dylan had a fantastic first match against Sri Lanka’s Priyankara Wimukthi, however, was beaten by England’s Ashley McKenzie, who would later be crowned Commonwealth Champion, in the quarter-final. Moving into the repechage he faced Vijay Kumar Yadav but was unable to secure a win putting him out of the competition.
A massive congratulations to all Team Scotland Judoka for putting on a great performance.
Judo at Birmingham 2022: What You Need To Know
Venue: Coventry Arena1st - 3rd August
Judo is back at the Commonwealth Games! For the first time since Glasgow 2014, Judo is back in the Commonwealth Games for Birmingham 2022. Whether you are new to the Games or simply need a refresh here is what you need to know about Commonwealth Judo.
Monday 1st August: -48kg, -52kg, -57kg, -60kg & -66kg
Tuesday 2nd August: -63kg, -70kg, -73kg & -81kg
Wednesday 3rd August: -78kg, +78kg, -90kg, -100kg & +100kg
Competitive Judo
A competitive Judo match will last for 4 minutes, however, this can be cut short if one competitor scores an ippon, or can last longer if the match goes into golden score.
The objective in a judo match is to throw the opponent to the ground on their back; pin them to the ground principally on their shoulder; or force them to submit to a choke, strangle or armlock. Any of these score ippon, immediately winning the match. Scores from the match will be displayed on the scoreboard with the remaining time of the competition.
There are currently 14 categories within Judo and they are divided into weight and gender:
Female Categories: -48Kg, -52Kg, -57kg, -63kg, -70kg, -78kg and +78kg
Male Categories: -60kg, -66kg, -73kg, -81kg, -90kg, -100kg and +100kg
Are You Traveling For The Games?
If you are travelling for the Games, make sure to join us between sessions at The Novotel Coventry where British Judo will be hosting an official supporters lounge. Make sure to pop by and pick up your supporter’s packs!
This is an ideal location for all our judo family and friends to congregate in between sessions as it is just a 10-minute walk from the Arena. Food is available and there is a large open-plan bar area as well as a beer garden with a play area for children. We very much look forward to seeing you at the Games and the Judo House. The Novotel address is: 3 Wilsons Lane, Longford, Coventry, CV6 6HL
Judo Glossary
Hajime: Begin
Mate: Stop (wait)
Judogi: Judo Suit
Judoka: One who studies Judo
Rei: Respect/Bow
Shido: Penalty
Waza Ari: 1/2 point.
Ippon: Full point.
Ne Waza: Techniques on the ground.
Tachi Waza: Standing techniques
Golden Score: Golden Score is a sudden death situation and the first contestant to achieve any score wins.
Hansoku: Disqualification