Saturday saw a welcome return to judo for Cadet and Pre-Cadet judoka as UEL Sportsdock played host to the England Closed Championships.

The Championships marked the first national competition in over 18 months when British Judo staged the British Schools Championships prior to the first Covid lockdown.

Pre-Cadet Girls

Bella Walsh (Melborne Judo Club) was crowned champion in the -32kg category whilst Hannah King (Bishops Stortford Judokwai) claimed gold in the -36kg category.

It was gold and silver for Tees Valley Judo in the -40kg as Rosey Kett was crowned champion ahead of Evie Church. In the -44kg category, Sophie Pasztor (Tessa Sanderson Foundation) won gold.

Bradley Stoke Judo Club claimed top spot with in the -52kg competition following Ellie Shipp’s victory.

The -48kg category was the most competitive with 10 judoka vying for gold, but it was Keira Semete (Tonbridge Judo Club) that was victorious. It was gold for Ellie James (HWJC) in the -57kg category whilst Maya Aubert-Gomez (Ealing Judo Club) was victorious in the -63kg category.

Chloe Allen (Bishops Stortford Judokwai) deservedly topped the podium in the -70kg competition.

Pre-Cadet Boys

Kin Ryu claimed gold in three of the nine weight categories being contested, with Daniil Grishin (-46kg), Samuel Tang (-50kg) and Peter Crawford (-66kg) all being crowned champions.

Bishops Stortford Judokwai won gold in two weight categories with Billy Simpson (-73kg) and Lenny Tancock (-55kg) both victorious.

Elsewhere there were gold medals for Stanley Pusey (Mickelfield Judo Club; -34kg), Oliver Bigger (Pudsey Judo Club; -38kg), Matin Dastan (Derby Olympus Judo; -42kg) and Abderraouf Rahmani (Hackney Judo Club; -60kg).

Cadet Girls

Amelia Alder (Judo Club Osaka) won gold in the -44kg category whilst Ace Edwards (R.K. Judo Club) was victorious in the -48kg category.

Charlotte Jenman (Tonbridge Judo Club) was crowned -52kg champion whilst Chloe Link (Faversham / Canterbury Judo) topped the podium in the -57kg category.

Olivia Delahunty (Newbury Judo Club) won gold in the -63kg category whilst there was another gold for Bishops Stortford Judokwai with Nicole Wood in the -70kg category.

In the -78kg category, it was gold for Gateshead Judo Club’s Anya Hassan whilst Milly Horsfield (SKK) won gold in the +78kg category.

Cadet Boys

Benjamin Nunn claimed gold number SIX for Bishops Stortford Judokwai in the -50kg category, whilst Reuben Cloete (Wirral Judo Club) was crowned -46kg champion.

Kyras Edutie (Tonbridge Judo Club) won gold in a competitive -55kg category that had 20 entries. Meanwhile, Judo Sensei’s Derek Marczat was -60kg champion.

Coventry Judo Club’s Eryk Neumann won gold in the -66kg category as Ben Levy (Budokwai) was -73kg champion in the most contested category of the day with 29 entries.

Harrison Grist from Judo Club Osaka was champion in the -81kg category whilst William Andrews (Sheffield Judo Club) and Abdulrahman El-Amir (Core Judo) won gold in the -90kg and +90kg categories respectively.

Speaking after the event Sophie Cox, England Talent Development Coach said: “It was fantastic to be back competing this weekend, the standard of judo on display was excellent and it was great to see so many judoka competing.

“A big thank you to the organisers and host area as well as all of the officials who put on a fantastic competition. This is the first of many, and we’re looking forward to the next few months as things continue to develop. We are proud of everyone who turned out to fight and gave it everything.”

Full Results