MONTHLY CLUB ROUND UP (SEPTEMBER '25)
- EdinburghJudo
- Sep 30
- 4 min read
It's been an exciting and very busy September for the EdinburghJudo community; with our members taking part in training camps, competitions, earning new belts and training hard together!
Nine members of our Performance Squad kicked off the month by travelling over to Dublin for an international training camp with players from many different countries in attendance.
Invited by former EdinburghJudo player and Ireland coach Eoin Fleming, it was a step out of their comfort zone participating in a camp at this level, but offered an opportunity to build skills, confidence and most importantly, team cohesion.
Five senior members were competing in Kent for this year's edition of the Police Sport UK Championships, bringing home seven medals across their respective categories - what a brilliant achievement!
Results
Matt: 🥈 (senior)
Jamie: 🥉 (senior) & 🥇 (veterans)
Jo: 🥉 (kyu grades) & 🥉 (kyu grade open)
Gav: 🥉 (senior)
Koko: 🥉 (veterans)
Back at the club, twenty nine of our senior members successfully completed their kyu grading - well done everyone!
From 6th kyu through to 1st kyu, it was brilliant to see so many step up to show their progress, and demonstrate the skills they’ve worked so hard to develop. The atmosphere was great, with lots of support and encouragement from everyone.
We are very proud of the effort, commitment, and dedication you’ve all shown so far on your judo journey. There’s lots more to come! Thank you to all of our senior coaches and staff for providing their guidance, support and judo knowledge.
Keeping the grading momentum going, eight senior players took part in the JudoScotland Veterans (age 30+) Dan Grading in Glenrothes. Some earned new grades and valuable points towards their next belt, others successfully completed their theory exam, but overall everyone displayed excellent technical skills!
Nick, Nur, David and Craig had the pleasure of meeting 3x World Champion (2022, 2023 & 2024) + Olympic silver medalist (2024) Tato Grigalashvili!
The group learned some explosive Georgian style judo from Tato, featuring plenty of gripping and different throw variations, at the JudoScotland Gathering in Glasgow. It's always a privilege to have these opportunities to learn from the best and bring some new knowledge back to the club!
Evan, Archie and Hazel took the trip down to Walsall and proudly represented EdinburghJudo at the Heart of England competition. It was a good day for the trio, with plenty of contests, wins in the bag and strong performances put in - good work!
Results
Hazel: 🥈 (Masters) + 🥉 (Seniors)
Archie: 🥉 (Seniors)
Evan: 5th Place (Seniors)
It was a busy two days of judo for the team who took part in the ONST (Open National Squad Training) at the GB National Performance Centre in Walsall.
The group got stuck into plenty of randori with players from across the UK and Ireland over the four sessions, providing valuable experience and insight into training at this level - especially for the younger members of our Performance Squad as they prepare for the Scottish and British Championships later this year.
Great work team, and thank you to both Craig and Gav for supporting everyone across the weekend!
Kirsty and Sara enjoyed a day of refereeing and officiating at the Strathkelvin Red, Yellow and Orange Belt Open.
Supported by senior referees, the pair worked hard to ensure that the event was a positive and encouraging experience for all the kids taking part. A good day of learning and developing, with plenty of happy faces on the mat! Great to see our players giving back to the sport through their volunteering - well done girls.
September saw a return to international competition for Scott at the Skopje Senior European Open in North Macedonia. Despite a tough contest draw, Scott put in a good performance at his first international appearance in two years, and we look forward to seeing him at more events on the world stage.
It was a great day in Kilmarnock for our seniors who competed at the second edition of the Alba Judo Veterans Open.
A fantastic opportunity for everyone to get plenty of contests at their level within the Scottish masters judo community. There were wins, losses and points well earned towards their next grades. Huge well done to Dave and Ash who secured the final points on the day for their black belts and became EdinburghJudo’s newest 1st Dans (theory exam pending for Ash)!
Results
Rafal: 🥇 + 🥇 (Open category)
Euan: 🥇 + 🥇 (Open category)
Ash: 🥈
Dave: 🥉
Eni: 🥉
George: 🥉
Chad: 🥉 (PeeblesJudo)
What a phenomenal turn out for our Women & Girls Training Day with 3x Olympian + European Champion Sarah Clark.
It was brilliant to have almost 50 (a few missed the group photo!) women and girls from a wide range of age and abilities training together and learning from each other - the atmosphere in the club was incredible!
A huge thank you to Sarah for leading a great session, our behind the scenes team who helped organise the day, and to everyone who came along and got involved.
We look forward to hosting more events like these that bring our wonderful community together, and continue to promote the participation of women and girls in judo.
As we head into October, that means the half term break is quickly approaching and it’s almost time for our October Kids Camp!
October Camp will run from 8:30am - 4:45pm for the week of Monday 13th October - Friday 17th October and is open to members, non-members, friends and family aged 5+ years, with single-day and full-week booking options available. Each day of camp will be packed full of fun activities, team games and judo action; all led by our team of qualified coaches.
You can book a place for your child by clicking the button below, or get in touch for more information/with any questions by emailing us at enquiries@edinburghjudo.com!
See you in the next round-up,
The EdinburghJudo Team ⛩️
