Olympians, Commonwealth Games champions and rising stars of British Judo will be competing for Great Britain at the Glasgow European Open at the Emirates Arena on Saturday 10 October.

London 2012 Olympian and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion Ashley McKenzie (-60kg) will be aiming to make a successful comeback from injury that kept him out of the World Championships in Astana last month.

He will be joined by Ben Fletcher (-100kg) who made an impressive debut at the World Championships reaching the third round including a victory over a former world champion. Two years ago Fletcher lost in the final to home favourite Euan Burton and the 23 year old is looking forward to continuing his Road To Rio in Glasgow:

“It should be really good. If I can get a result there it’s more ranking points and it will be good to do well in a home European Open as well.  It’ll be good to have that home support and to do it in front of the home fans.”

There is further international quality with Glasgow Commonwealth Games champions Owen Livesey (-81kg) and Danny Williams (-73kg) also competing.

However there is also plenty of home interest including Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Andy Burns (-90kg) and the local boy can’t wait to compete in front of the Glasgow crowd once again:

“If you look back at the Commonwealth Games and the support we had there in Glasgow, I have competed in front of bigger crowds but nothing as exciting, nothing as partisan, as atmospheric as the Commonwealth Games were. To be back in Glasgow again will be incredible.”

He will be joined a crop of young Scottish talent including Neil MacDonald (-60kg), Stuart McWatt (-81kg) and Valentino Volante (+100kg).

McWatt and MacDonald, along with Connor Ireland (-73kg) and Sam Hall (-60kg), are competing at the Junior European Championship squad in Austria later this month (18-20 September) and the European Open will be a great opportunity to see them in action on home soil.

The full British selection can be found here.

Tickets are still available starting at £2.50 and we look forward to seeing you there: https://bja.platform81.com/glasgow2015