Winning Medals with United Judo!

Every month the Inclusive Club Network celebrates a club, coach or volunteer within the network that is doing amazing work in their community. 

This month we’re celebrating the incredible United Judo and three of their participants who recently competed at the European Judo Union Tournament.

Dave, Head Coach at United Judo, tells us more about it.

I was honoured to be a coach for three of my adaptive competitors who took part in the prestigious European Judo Union Tournament held in Swansea, Wales in July 2024. This is quite a daunting trip for our players who have Autism and ADHD and are usually happier at our home club.

Kagan is our most experienced competitor, whereas Siobhan has little experience and Scott has never competed before. Kagan is a shining example of what can be done with hard work and he is now the mainstream British Champion in his weight group!

Siobhan is autistic and has a very different approach. She likes to think things through a lot beforehand and in her own time comes to a decision on how she wants to tackle a situation. She loves keeping everyone informed on the latest updates for the Adaptive and VI Players and considers herself a Facebook journalist. Her judo has improved massively since feeling welcome at our club, where respect for each other is a main priority. 

When Scott first joined United Judo, he wasn’t comfortable being touched or touching anyone else, so he found judo a challenge right from the start. Scott also suffered from depression and felt like his life had no direction. Then he tried Judo. Scott is rightly very proud of himself and says judo has opened up a whole new world for him that he never before believed he would be part of. He believes everything that is happening in his life now is like a new beginning thanks to being part of a judo family. 

With hundreds of competitors coming from all over Europe we are proud to share that Kagan won Gold, Sioban and Scott both won Bronze. There were some very exciting fights, and you can watch them back on the British Judo Association's YouTube channel, linked below.

British Judo Youtube>

Fancy trying a session at United Judo?
Contact Head Coach, Dave Quinn – 07952 117258
United Judo