News

A Brief update from the Chair of some key events and recent news from May. 

Hi Judo Community,

May was an extremely busy month with 2 Grand Prix Events and the JudoScotland All Stars Championship taking place.

It was great to see such healthy numbers and participation at the recent Clyde Open where all 5 mats were utilised. I’ve heard good feedback from the Event.

I thought referees and officials at the All Stars Championship looked great in their new, logoed JudoScotland polo tops.  It helped portray a suitably informal approach to the event which, for so many young judokas, is their introduction to tournaments.  I felt it helped convey an appropriately relaxed atmosphere and supported the event’s positioning of being a ‘gentler/fun’ introduction to competition.

I’d like to give a special mention to Lisa Allan.  I’ve known Lisa for most of my life and was delighted when she became the International Judo Federation’s General Secretary.  She’s worked extremely hard over the years and it’s no surprise that she has achieved this success, her appointment is good for Judo and great for JudoScotland.  She’s an inspiration and recently visited the JudoScotland office where she gave a great motivational talk to our Staff – much appreciated Lisa.  We had a nice catch-up on the phone and we both agreed that the ‘Wee Lassie fae Wester Hailes has come a long way’.

On other matters, good luck to Sean Allan, I hope your preparation for the Special Olympics World Games on the 17^th – 25^th June goes well.  I would also like to wish Chris Murphy the best of luck at the Virtus Global Games which takes place in Vichy-France from the 2nd – 11th of June. We’re all rooting for you both.

And finally, I hope everyone enjoyed the Grand Prix in Aberdeen at the end of the month.  Gordon McCathie, our Vice Chair represented JudoScotland, and said he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks

Marc

There has never been a more exciting time to join JudoScotland. As part of our new strategic plan, Judo For All, we are recruiting for a full-time Lead Safeguarding & Wellbeing Officer to realise JudoScotland’s ambitions to embed safeguarding & wellbeing throughout the entire organisation. Our plan reflects the ambitious direction of the organisation and has been developed following an in-depth consultation with our members and stakeholders to encapsulate our collective aims.

Vision 

A Scottish Governing Body renowned for excellence, enabling people of all ages and abilities to realise their potential.

Mission 

Maximise the contribution of judo to Scotland’s communities through the provision of safe, inclusive and inspiring clubs based on judo’s values.

Main Goals

• To grow an engaged, diverse membership
• To make a positive contribution to Scottish society
• Progressive, inclusive opportunities across all levels
• Scottish athlete success
• Corporate excellence

The Role

Working in conjunction with the Head of the Business Delivery Team and with the advice of key stakeholders (primarily Children 1^st, sportscotland and British Judo Association), you will devise, implement and promote appropriate wellbeing and protection standards, policies and procedures for the sport of judo in Scotland.

Please complete the below Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and submit it with your application.

The next Masters session is on 18th June at JudoScotland’s National Training Centre.

Training sessions are held once a month and all Masters are welcome to join whenever they can.

To support administration and preparation for sessions, registrations and payments (£5pp per session) will now be made online here, using Just Go, JudoScotland’s membership portal.

If you have a JudoScotland membership already, the process is simple. Log in to your account, using your membership number as your username and complete the event ticket for the session you wish to attend. If you don’t have a JudoScotland membership, follow the sign-up to become a member, following the prompts to get a JudoScotland membership.

If you are a member with another national association who is visiting for the Masters session, please contact us on 0131 333 2981.

Thank you in advance for your help as we transition to a new registration process to ensure that all participants are covered by relevant membership and insurance. And of course, if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact JudoScotland.

There has never been a more exciting time to join JudoScotland. We are delighted to be recruiting for the role of Disability Development Officer, as part of our new strategic plan, Judo For All. Our plan reflects the ambitious direction of the organisation and has been developed following an in-depth consultation with our members and stakeholders to encapsulate our collective aims.

Vision 

A Scottish Governing Body renowned for excellence, enabling people of all ages and abilities to realise their potential.

Mission 

Maximise the contribution of judo to Scotland’s communities through the provision of safe, inclusive and inspiring clubs based on judo’s values.

Main Goals

• To grow an engaged, diverse membership
• To make a positive contribution to Scottish society
• Progressive, inclusive opportunities across all levels
• Scottish athlete success
• Corporate excellence

Joining the dynamic Business Delivery Team, the Disability Development Officer will lead on delivering progressive and inclusive opportunities across all levels. Leading on the support and development of opportunities for people with disabilities to engage, progress and flourish in the sport of judo.

This Mental Health Awareness Week we are pleased to share that JudoScotland have become signatories of the SAMH Charter for Sport. The purpose of the Charter is to use the collective power of physical activity and sport to create positive lasting change in mental health and wellbeing.

SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) is Scotland’s largest mental health charity, and they believe there is no health without mental health. SAMH has represented the voice of people most affected by mental health problems in Scotland for more than 90 years and are dedicated to mental health and wellbeing for all.

Freda McInulty, Business Support Team Manager said, “We are committed to supporting Scotland’s Mental Health Charter for Sports and Physical Activity. This is not simply a box-ticking exercise for us, we are looking at tangible ways to better support our members, coaches and staff, as no one should have to suffer with mental health on their own.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, contact your GP or visit SAMH for more information www.samh.org.uk.

Dumfries and Galloway! What’s going on, recently featured Sean Allan following his selection for Team GB Special Olympics ahead of this Summer’s Games. The Special Olympics will take place this June in Berlin.

20 year old Sean, trains at Castle Douglas Judo Club and Dumfries Judo Academy, where he started practising judo around 12 years ago.
Sean has an intellectual disability, however he has never let this get in the way of his judo journey, and has always been able to participate in mainstream judo classes with his peers. Although Sean finds some things a bit more difficult than his friends in the club, with hard work and support from his coaches and training partners, Sean has always found a way to succeed.
Sean’s training for this summer’s games has seen him engage in interclub training sessions with Hamilton Judo Club to provide extra training opportunities.
If you would like to support Sean in his Journey you can do so here.

A Brief update from the Chair of some key events and recent news from April:

Hi Judo Community,

Starting with some good news and the fact that our very own Director, James McBeath, passed his IJF (A) Referee Award. I believe this makes James one of only 6 referees in Britain who are qualified to this level. I’ve worked with James for many years on the Board and can vouch that he thoroughly deserves the honour. Well Done!

And let’s hear it for Chris Murphy, who never disappoints! Chris has been selected for the Virtus Global Games that are being held in Vichy, France. As always, the whole of Scotland will be rooting for you Chris!

With sadder news, my thoughts turn to Donald Hughes who suddenly passed away this month. As a boy I regularly visited the club he ran during the 70s and 80s, and my thoughts go out to his family. A fine man.

At this point, I’d like to acknowledge that JudoScotland has appointed five new Talent Development Support Coaches. I believe that this is important for the future of JudoScotland and the development of our current programmes. I have no doubt they will be an absolute asset to our sport.

I’d also like to welcome Sarah Birrell, our new sportscotland Partnership Manager, whom I caught up with at last night’s Board Meeting. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more from Sarah in the coming months.

In other JudoScotland news, as in the previous year, a working group has continued to review our articles to improve our governance further and bring us in line with top organisations. This is a time-consuming and lengthy process, but I do feel that we are moving in the right direction.

The team is currently working on a provisional events/competition framework for 2024 which we aim to get out to you all as soon as it’s complete to allow you to organise your calendar. Doing it this far in advance will hopefully enable us to get venue availability spread more evenly throughout the year. We have been listening!

I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming Grand Prix and Scottish All Star Championship this month.

Thanks

Marc