The weekend saw 162 Scottish Judoka take to the tatami in a bid to become British Champion.
Scottish competitors made up 20% of competitors, a strong showing considering Scotland accounts for only 8% of the UK population. A total of 57 medals were awarded to Scottish judoka with eight individuals becoming British Champions in their respective categories.
We want to extend a huge thank you to all the clubs and coaches who supported judoka across the weekend and in their training and development throughout the year.
There was also a strong Scottish contingent among the Referees and Technical Officials at the weekend with eight referees and one technical official volunteering across the two days of competition.
Saturday 13th November – Cadet and Junior
The Cadets were up first, opening the weekend with an impressive medal haul of 14, including a gold for Tabitha Callaghan (Judo Club Esprit). Lexi Buchanan (Sportif) and Coby Sweetland (Sportif) both won silver in the -48kg and -46kg respectively. In the -50kg it was Double Bronze for Pro Judo with Finlay Whitelaw and Samuel Mcallister.
In Juniors a total of 16 medals, starting in the -100kg, it was a Gold & Silver finish for Scotland with Kevin Gordon (Hibari Kan Judo Club) and Jaden Calder (Judo Club Esprit). There were three medals in the Junior -73. In the -60kg category, Joe Buchanan (Sportif) delivered a stellar performance to claim gold, while teammate Coen Gilbert added to the success with a bronze. Finlay Strang (Danderhall) battled his way to silver, while Jack Macleod (Garioch Judo Club) and Eden Heffernan (Pro Judo) claimed bronze.
Meanwhile, in the Junior -48kg category, Eva Ewing (EdinburghJudo) delivered a brilliant performance to take gold, with Lexi Buchanan (Sportif Judo Club) fighting hard to secure bronze. In the -63kg category, Zaffira Edwards (EdinburghJudo) fought her way to a silver medal, while Bronach McGill (Sportif) claimed bronze.
Sunday 14th November – Pre-Cadet and Senior
The Pre-Cadets kicked off the competition on Sunday with some incredible perfomances resulting in 13 medals across the board. ProJudos’s Innes Whitelaw won gold in the –38kg category with Roibin Gallagher (Zenkai Judo Club) joining him on the podium after securing the bronze medal. Olivia Smith (Zenkai Judo Club) also won gold in the –40kg category with Kier O’Connor (ProJudo) also securing a silver in the -46kg.
Scots were across the podiums in the boys Pre-Cadets with silver medals from Magnus Thompson (Destination Judo) in –55kg, Jude Buchanan (Sportif) in –60kg and Angus Mowat (Highland Budokan) in –66kg. They stood alongside fellow Scots on the podium as there were bronze medals won in each category also by Carlo Pellicci (Judo Club Espirt), Lorenzo Justino (Tayside) and Aaron Sokolowski (Sportif).
The seniors took to the tatami later in the day and delivered some standout performances resulting in 14 medals in total. Following some tough competition, there were bronze medal finishes from Jidel Judo’s Tomi Imrie in the –57kg category and Harriet Jones (ProJudo) in –52kg.
The Final Block saw seven Scottish judoka in the finals, with five silver medals and two golds to add to the haul. Siblings Joe and Lexi Buchannan left with silver medals in the –60kg and –48kg categories alongside Neil McDonald in the –66kg. It was more medal success for our heavyweigh judoka with silver medal finishes from Kevin Gordan (Hibari Kan Judo Club) in the –100kg category and Gregor Miller (Garioch) in the +100kg.
Edinburgh Judo’s Scott Cusack secured the title of British Champion with gold in the -90kg category while Summer Shaw (Camberly Judo Club) delivered a standout performance to take home the gold in the –48kg category.
It wasn’t just the judoka making us proud, we had eight incredible Scottish referees stepping into the middle of the mat. Having joined the National A Programme at the end of November Kirsty Lyon and Emma Imrie-Herd took part in their first assessments, scoring well and will continue to be assessed over their next two major national events. Following the weekend we are proud to announce that Victoria Kirk has now completed the necessary assessments to become Scotland’s newest National A Referee.
James McBeath stepped up into the role Co-Referee in charge for the event and was joined by Graeme MacLachlan as Mat Supervisor overseeing decisions and carrying out assessments over both days of competition. Paul Grady, Audrey Pirie, and Adam Lovey also took to the tatami to support with refereeing throughout the weekend. In terms of Technical Officials, Susie Wright represented Scotland and provided vital support to the successful running of the event.
For a full list of results please visit the British Judo Website.