A brief update from the JudoScotland Chair Marc Preston on activity in September.
September was an extremely busy period for JudoScotland, and one of the most productive months in recent memory, with many goals being set and achieved.
We kicked off the month with a bang by launching our new Mon Grade enhancements, designed to enrich and elevate the grading experience for young judoka. The response so far has been incredibly positive, and I’m really looking forward to hearing more from our members about how these updates are helping to make gradings even more meaningful and enjoyable.
On the 3rd of the month I flew down to Walsall in my capacity as Home Nations Representative on the British Judo Board. As always, there was a huge agenda to get through, and we had a productive session.
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Candidate Directors’ Online Q&A Session due to lack of interest. This is something that we will persevere with and will try and boost attendance. Could I ask all clubs to look out for this in the future. It would be brilliant if you could join in.
This year’s Gathering on 13th and 14th September was an incredible experience: a new venue, new set-up and one of the absolutely best players in the world, Tato Grigalashvili, 3 times World Champion, in attendance. From a personal point of view, I found the mat time to be of the highest quality. Tato delivered sensational sessions with a level of judo that you rarely ever see. It was mindblowing! I’d like to personally thank the JudoScotland team for delivering such an excellent weekend.
On 21st September, special thanks to Neil Adams for delivering the 2025 Competition Rules Course and hosting a special seminar for our Kaizen Academy coaches. Neil and Nikki have always gone above and beyond with our organisation and over the years we have forged a very strong connection.
As you’ll all be aware, Alberto Borin has joined JudoScotland and is now part of the team with Gary Edwards and Taka Kitahara. On 23rd September, they put together a camp for Scottish Judoka where we were delighted to welcome along Uta Abe, 5 times world champion. Another exceptional coup for us! 
The camp was a fantastic opportunity to set expectations for the performance programme, reinforcing key behaviours both on and off the mat. It was inspiring to see judoka dining together, socialising, and training side by side, building not just skills, but a strong sense of team spirit and camaraderie. We were delighted to be able to work in partnership with Lost Shore who hosted, not only our special guests but our athletes in their accommodation pods right next door to our training centre. We’re really excited that we’ve been able to offer such sensational sessions to our up and coming stars! Again, a personal thank you to Uta for choosing to come to Scotland to showcase her talent . She was well looked after and I also believe that our Scottish hospitality was exceptional. Special thanks go to Lee McGrorty and Stuart McIntyre for taking her around on a falconry day.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank RA Sneddon who subsidised the camp and has helped to provide this opportunity to our judoka.
Unfortunately I was unable to make the MacMillan Coffee Morning at Ratho on 25th due to prior commitments, but Judith brought me up to date with another excellent day and opportunity for our members both to get together – and to make a difference.
We rolled on to our AGM, on 28th September, which was, for the first time, a hybrid between online and personal attendance. We did have a couple of technical hiccups but we will look at this and sort it going forward. I think it is extremely important we give everyone the opportunity of a platform and I believe this is moving our organisation forward for the future. Giving our members a voice.
Thank you to everyone who attended, from our President and Vice President to our clubs. Unfortunately, Rick Kenney, as you may well be aware, took an unfortunate fall whilst at his grand-daughter’s graduation. Rick sent his apologies. Get better soon! There was a great and varied amount of conversation and some really good topics brought to the table – which we will look to understand going forward and to action.
I would like to thank Iain Feenan and Richard Marsh for putting their names forward for the role of Director. It was an extremely close, split vote. And, with this in mind, I asked the Board to individually put forward their preferred candidate. Again, this was incredibly close. I would like to congratulate Richard Marsh who was duly appointed as Director at the AGM. 
I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Joe Harris on his outstanding achievements in his recent Dan grade promotions. His promotion to 6th Dan is a symbol of not only technical expertise but also a deep commitment to the art and spirit of judo. Thank you to Rick Kenney who presented Joe with his promotion at Joe McKay Centre in Bellshill earlier in the month.
And finally, I would like to finish September’s Update by congratulating all of our 2025 Community Award Winners. I believe that you all really make a difference. Well done!