A Brief update from the Chair of some key events and recent judo news from October.
Dear Members
October was a busy month, starting on 5th with the Highland Grand Prix. Gordon McCathie, our Vice-Chair went along to represent the Board at the event, which I’ve been told, ran very smoothly.
On 6th October, our CEO Judith, Euan Burton, Gary Edwards and myself met at Ratho to have a discussion with Clubs and Coaches about the way forward for our High Performance and Talent Development Programmes. There was a great turn out – with over 30 participants. There followed a very open and frank discussion and I’d like to thank all of the Coaches for their input to what was a very courteous and constructive session. This was just the start of the process, and we’ll be in contact again to move things further forward. To those who did come along, thanks for taking the time to come along on your weekend.
On 11th October, Judith and myself travelled to Glasgow to meet up with Andrew Scoular and Gerry Gualtieri, respectively the CEO and Chair of British Judo. Jointly we met with sportcotland to discuss our ways of working during this important time as BJA review their strategy. It’s important that JudoScotland and British Judo have an aligned approach going forward and, again, we had a very constructive meeting.
12th/13th October was our Annual Gathering – superbly attended with over 240 judoka who were spoiled with an absolutely world-class coaching line-up. It included Shohei Ono (amongst other accolades – double Olympic Champion and 3 x World Champion),Takanori Nagase (Current Olympic Champion)and our High Performance Coach, Taka Kitahara. A feast of 12 hours of judo and an absolute joy to be on the mat with such legends!
On 12th October we had our Annual General meeting at Largs. A very slick, rollout – completed in 30 minutes. I think the format that we use is really good!
And, after such a busy weekend, I headed off for a family holiday for a week to recharge the batteries.
On 29th October we had our Open Board meeting. As per last year, we ran the session online: one of the reasons being to provide absolute transparency. We were highly recommended by our Partnership Manager, Sarah Birrell from sportscotland, as being the first governing body to go down this path.
Other events of significance this month include the JudoScotland Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards and I’d like to give a big congratulation to all of the winners.
And fantastic news that you’ll already have heard the Commonwealth Games is coming to Glasgow. Ten sports have been selected and judo is one of them. An absolute boost for our sport. I’m really looking forward to the preparation and the event itself.
We have also just launched our new JudoScotland tartan kilt. Hopefully you’ve seen the promotion with Shohei Ono wearing his! I’ll definitely be purchasing one and feel free to contact JudoScotland if you’d like to do the same.
I’d like to congratulation Gordon McCathie who has just been voted in to continue as Vice Chair on the Board for a further 2 years. Well done Gordon!
The Chair of sportscotland Maureen Campbell, and our Director, Sandy Hodge, visited Hamilton Judo Inclusion Club and gave fantastic reviews. Again, I’d like to thank Hamilton Judo Club for all of the hard work they’re doing in this very important area.
On a personal basis I’ve been accepted on to the British Judo board as JudoScotland’s Home Nation representative. This is a role I’ll be involved with for the next couple of years. It is exceptionally important to have these ties, so we can have an aligned way of thinking and moving forward. I look forward to getting to know my British Judo Board Colleagues. First session is on 1 November.
Finally some fantastic news to finish with. JudoScotland has been short-listed as the Scottish Governing Body of the year at the upcoming Scottish Sports Awards. It’s the first time in our history that we’ve received such a nomination and makes me extremely proud. Getting this kind of recognition is a real boost and I’d like to thank all staff, Board and JudoScotland club members, volunteers and officials for all your superb work and contribution. This is recognition of all the hard work that everyone is doing! Keep it going!
Onwards!
Marc Preston
6th Dan