British Visually Impaired judoka, Chris Skelley and British Judo Paralympic Coach Ian Johns were special guests at the 2015 British Special Needs Schools Competition earlier this month where they delivered a masterclass for judoka at the event. 

Players from as far afield as Scotland and Cornwall descended on Samurai Judo Club in Kidderminster to take part in one of the 10 categories that made up the competition. 

Ian led a masterclass before the competition began as a warm up: “The athletes really enjoyed the session and it set them up ready for the competition” said Ian. 

“The session went very well and the level of engagement was superb. 

“The judoka all competed within the spirit of judo, fighting as hard as they could, never giving up and always supporting each other”, Ian added. 

The judoka then hung on Chris Skelley’s every word as he did a question and answer session for those in attendance. Chris went into detail about his journey in the sport so far, from local judo in his native Hull to winning a World Games bronze medal earlier this year. This was particularly significant as Chris himself competed in the Special Needs Schools Competition twice as a youngster before joining the British Judo Visually Impaired program. 

There were gold medals for Sophie Kenny (girls F1), Marianne Woods (girls F2), Hollie Hutchinson (girls F3), Harry Porter (boys M1), Samuel Haycock (boys M2), Joe Horne (boys M3), Beanie Edwards (boys M4), Tom Mawdsley (boys M5), James Bools (boys M6) and Michael Lomas (boys M7). For the full list of results click here. 

The next important date in the UK Special Needs judo calendar is the 2015 British Special Needs Open Championships at Stoke Mandevile Stadium in August. For more information including entries click here. 

The Special Olympics team is currently in Los Angles competing in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the results.