December hit the ground running, with the British Championships taking place in Sheffield to round the year off with a bang!
We had players competing across the cadet, junior and senior events, with our cadets taking the trip down south first alongside coaches Big Sarah and Craig. No medals for our cadets this time, however they showed great determination and support for each other and came away with a lot to build on going into the new year.
The following weekend, a team of our junior and senior players took to the EIS in Sheffield. Ethan W was up first on the Saturday as our only junior competitor but that didn’t stop him from coming away with the silver medal! A great result at his very first British Championships and one that reflected his performance on the day.
That wasn’t the end of EdinburghJudo players securing spots on the podium, as our seniors stormed the mats the following day. The team certainly brought the action throughout the day, with Dylan M, Scott C and Sarah A all becoming British Champions in their respective categories and the Short brothers taking both bronze medals in the -73KG category, bringing the club total up to six medals across the weekend.
There were great performances all round by everyone who stepped up to compete at the British Championships; medal or no medal. For some it was their very first British Championships, for others their first in a new age/weight category. It’s clear though that everyone’s training, both on the mat and in the gym, is beginning to pay off and will continue to head in a positive direction as we build towards what comes next in 2024!
Well done to everyone who competed and thank you to our coaches, family and friends for supporting the team across both weekends and beyond.
🏆RESULTS🏆
Junior: Ethan W (+100KG): SILVER
Senior: Dylan M (-60KG): GOLD + BRITISH CHAMPION 2023 Alex S (-73KG): BRONZE Ollie S (-73KG): BRONZE Scott C (-81KG): GOLD + BRITISH CHAMPION 2023 Sarah A (+78KG): GOLD + BRITISH CHAMPION 2023
The action wasn’t just limited to the British National Championships. Across the Irish sea Eoin F (-81KG) was also fighting at the All Irelands National Championships in Dublin. Congratulations to Eoin on coming away with a well deserved silver medal! 💪🇮🇪
Following the British Championships, Development and Training Squad coach Scott was invited to present a group of young refugees with their red belts at a grading ceremony in Irvine.
The group, who relocated to Scotland from Ukraine and Syria, took part in 15 weeks of judo classes organised by the Loretta Doyle Foundation which led up to their first grading, where Scott and Loretta presented the group with their new belts.
Scott also proudly displayed his recent British and Scottish Championship medals with the youngsters and treated everyone to a demonstration of his favourite competitive throws!
With competitions, camps and training done for the year, it was time for some festivities before the club closed its doors for Christmas. We had a great Christmas party for our junior members, our coaches and staff party and then some drinks and snacks at the club for our senior members to close out the last session of 2023!
We hope everyone is enjoying the festive break alongside family and friends. It will be a well deserved rest for our players before they gear up towards the first competition of 2024 - the Scottish Open on the 20th of January.
To close out the final round up of the year, we’d like to thank our club community. EdinburghJudo would not be what it is without our members, family and friends all of whom make the judo club a great place to be - so thank you!! We look forward to welcoming you all back when the club reopens on January 6th.
See you in 2024,
The EdinburghJudo team ⛩️