MONTHLY CLUB ROUND UP (JANUARY + FEBRUARY '26)
- EdinburghJudo
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
It's time for the first club round-up of 2026; with competitive outings, plus a lot of hard work and fun happening on the mats, it's been a strong start to the year so far!
The first competitive endeavour of 2026 came with the annual Scottish Open tournament; always a tough and highly contested event, competitors from across the globe travelled to the sportscotland National Sports Training Centre in Largs to chase the title spot.
It was a very busy weekend, with EdinburghJudo players competing over two action packed days in the Cadet, Junior, Senior and Veteran categories.
On the Saturday, the veterans provided plenty of action throughout the morning, showcasing great technique and sportsmanship to their opponents - win or lose. Well done to Rafal L and Euan M for their gold medal finishes in their respective categories!
Our cadets then stepped up in the afternoon with respectable performances despite some tough draws, coming into each contest with positive judo and the drive to win. No medals this time, but we’re starting to see more and more confidence coming through in each player which will soon begin to pay off.
The following day our juniors and seniors came up against strong opponents from across the far and wide, showing great tenacity and commendable performances at this level.
Congratulations to Archie M who came away with a silver medal, Ethan W and Hazel T on their bronze medal finishes, and to our friend Kosei C from @sportjudova for his silver medal. Thank you for joining us again at the club over the last two weeks for training in preparation for this event!
Overall, a good start to the year, with each player has coming away with something to develop back in training. Regardless of the result, everyone conducted themselves in a way that was a credit to themselves and the club across the weekend, which is what matters more than a medal - well done all!
Results
Euan M (Veterans M1/M2 -100KG): 🥇
Rafal L (Veterans M3/M4 -100KG): 🥇
Kosei C @sportjudova (Senior -90KG): 🥈
Archie M (Junior -100KG): 🥈
Hazel T (Senior -70KG): 🥉
Ethan W (Junior -100KG): 🥉
Congratulations to Nathan (-73KG University of Glasgow) and Archie (-100KG Edinburgh Napier University), who took silver and bronze medals in their respective categories at the 2026 Scottish Student Championships - great to see the boys continue to develop and perform on the mat alongside their studies.
Thank you to the team at Scottish Student Sport Judo for organising a fantastic day of competition for our participating players, and well done to both Kirsty and Sara who were officiating at the event throughout the day too.
A huge well done to all of our youngsters who took part in the JudoScotland All Stars Championship at Ravenscraig!
The group did a great job displaying the judo skills they have been working on in class during the competition. Some tough contests and loses too, but these moments provide valuable opportunities to learn and develop resilience as they navigate the start of their judo journeys.
Thank you to Karen, Scott and Gav for coaching and supporting the team. We are very proud of each player’s performance and their attitudes throughout the day, it takes a lot to step up to compete - great work everyone!
Results
Nieve 🥇
Dami 🥈
Ivan 🥉
Hamish 🥉
Odin 🥉
Logan 🥉
Following his success at the Scottish Open and Scottish Student Championships, Archie has kept a good stream of consistent competitive performances, coming away with a bronze medal finish in the -100KG category at the English Open in Walsall.
Further kudos to Ethan who came 5th in the senior -100KG category, and to Alban for his 7th place finish in the cadet -60KG category. Onwards and upwards!
In January, we hosted the fifth edition of our successful Beginners Judo Course for adults, with 24 adult beginners successfully completing their 6th kyu grading to achieve their red belt and top off 6 weeks of learning!
Congratulations and a huge thank you to everyone who chose to start their year off by giving judo a try, coming in each week motivated and bringing great energy to the club. Billy and the rest of the coaching team were very impressed by the level of judo demonstrated and the incredible spirit the group had throughout the grading.
Thank you to coaches Craig, Nick, Ethan, Laith and Sarah for their work in providing uplifting sessions for adults of all ages and abilities on the course and beyond!
Going into March, our senior club members will have their highly anticipated kyu gradings, which they have been studying hard for in their sessions. We're looking forward to plenty of new belts being earned!
Beyond the club, there are many more events lined up which will take our players far and wide in March: the first domestic Grand Prix event, the British Schools Championships and the British Universities and Colleges Championships for our student competitors down south, the first National Dan Grading of the year for those looking to achieve their black belt, and a couple European Cups thrown in for good measure too - so keep an eye out for all of that and more in busy March round up!
See you then,
The EdinburghJudo Team
