February marks the start of the IJF World Tour with the Paris Grand Slam opening up the high-ranking contests of 2014 between 8 and 9 of the month.

Selected GB judoka will return to the continent with the European Opens of Rome, Italy (for women) and Oberwart, Austria (for men) the following weekend of 15-16 February before attention turns to the Dusseldorf Grand Prix (21-23 February) in Germany.

Selections for the following competitions include a mixture of younger players and more experienced hands, all hoping to secure vital world ranking points.

Junior European bronze medallist Nekoda Davis (-57kg) starts her first full-time senior year in style by competing in three of the four February competitions- the Paris Grand Slam, the Rome European Open and the Dusseldorf Grand Prix.

Seasoned Olympian and seven times British Champion Sally Conway (-70kg), currently ranked ninth in the world, will also make the trio of competitions in her quest to break into the top eight of the world ranking list, ensuring her seeding at the world’s major competitions.

Welsh star Natalie Powell (-78kg) and Sarah Adlington (+78kg) will join Conway and Davis at all three competitions. All four have been training hard and preparing for the challenges at the Mittersill camp in Austria. Adlington who trains in Scotland said: “I have lots of players in my category to practice with which I don’t get this back in Britain. Combining this with weights for the next week will be a good start to the year in the build up to up coming tournaments that I have been selected for.”

Glasgow European Open silver medallist Ben Fletcher (-100kg) is the only male judoka chosen to compete in all three competitions – Paris, Oberwart and Dusseldorf.

Olympian Colin Oates (-66kg) will aim for medals in two events: the Paris Grand Slam and Dusseldorf Grand Prix.

Fellow London 2012 competitor Ashley McKenzie (-60kg) will be in action in Oberwart and Dusseldorf. Tom Reed (-81kg) will take to the tatami in Oberwart and Dusseldorf.

Athletes selected solely for the European Open of Rome (for women) on Saturday 15-16 February include Kimberley Renicks (-48kg), Kelly Edwards (-52kg) and Megan Fletcher (-70kg).

Men selected only for the Oberwart European Open in Austria on Sunday 16 February include: Nathon Burns (-66kg), Jan Gosiewski (-73kg) and Max Stewart (-81kg).

The month ends with the Dusseldorf Grand Prix in Germany, taking place between 21 and 23 February, the same contest where Gemma Gibbons made her comeback to the international competition circuit last year to win gold.

Kate Howey, lead coach for the women’s judo team said: “The selections have been made for the first block of competitions and for the women we have players picked for three events to try and boost their world rankings, gain good performances before the European selections and qualify for the Masters in May. “The players have to be ranked in the top 16 to achieve this and some women are in a strong position to do so.

“There is a mix of experience and youth that have been selected, so that the youngsters can develop and move into senior judo and break onto the World Ranking List. “All the tournaments are tough at the beginning of the year with the Japanese, Koreans and Cubans all staying over for the block of four to five weeks.

“The competition calendar kicks off with our team in Paris which is very tough and then there are three more competitions back to back with training camps in between. “We will see what happens, what medals and what points we pick up.”

The first weekend in March will see the Prague European Open for men in the Czech Republic and the Warsaw European Open for women in Poland. Men selected for Prague on 1-2 March include: Ashley McKenzie, Nathon Burns, Jan Gosiewski, Max Stewart and Philip Awiti-Alcaraz.

Women selected for Warsaw on 2 March are: Hayley Willis (-48kg), Kelly Edwards (-52kg), Bekky Livesey (-57kg), Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown (-63kg) and Jodie Myers (+78kg).

Kelly Edwards said: “I am very pleased to have been selected to represent Great Britain in Italy and Poland.

“Since moving up to -52Kg shortly after London 2012, I have been working really hard on improving physically and technically, with the aim of establishing myself in the category and moving up the world rankings.

“Winning the British Championships was a good start to this exciting period for me. “My immediate aims are to keep improving and consistently achieve high level results needed to bring consideration for selection for major events later in the year.”

Words by Donna Richardson. Images EJU of Mittersill, Mike Varey from Glasgow European Open for Men/British Championships.