Following the success of the recent Kyu Grade competition held in St. Andrews, Scottish Student Sport and JudoScotland celebrate a new partnership agreement to grow student Judo on and off the mats.
Scottish Student Sport (SSS) are pleased to announce the latest in a number of Partnership Agreements (PA) with Scottish Governing Bodies. This new agreement with Judo Scotland (JS) will create a shared strategy toward growing participation, developing the workforce and supporting student clubs.
As an indoor contact sport Judo faced serious challenges during the lockdowns throughout the pandemic but participation at semester 1 events suggests that the Judo community are as eager as ever to compete. This PA has ambitious targets around growing club membership to exceed pre-pandemic levels, and will do so through club support from both SSS and JS.
Through reviewing the competition structure Scottish Student Judo (SSJ) will ensure there are opportunities for those new to the sport as well as those looking for a more competitive offering. There are also plans to provide a transition pathway for school pupils to student clubs. There will also be a focus on continuing to increase the number of student officials and coaches within JS.
Tony Penfold, Head of Delivery at Judo Scotland, said: “This new Partnership Agreement with Scottish Student Sport provides us with a great opportunity to focus our efforts on key areas that will enable student judo in Scotland to bounce back following COVID and establish itself as an integral part of the Scottish judo community. This is an exciting time for student Judo as all key stakeholders have inputted into this agreement and are now accountable for its delivery, and we very much look forward to seeing what we can collectively achieve.”
Neil Rankin, Development Coordinator at SSS, added: “As an indoor contact sport Judo has had a difficult two years with pandemic restrictions, but in semester 1 already we have seen a good recovery – thanks to the work of Paul Grady (SSJ Chair) and other key volunteers. This partnership will help steer collaboration with Judo Scotland toward increasing participation, developing the workforce and cementing student Judo within the work of the governing body.”