The British Judo Association, the national governing body for British Judo, has today (17 December) announced the Olympic and Paralympic athletes selected for its World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for 2018 – 2019.
Funded by the National Lottery through UK Sport, WCPP selection is based upon a set of criteria including potential to medal at future Olympic and Paralympic Games, results in the past year, and expected professional behaviours of an Elite athlete.
Five athletes will be supported through the Olympic and Paralympic Podium programmes. There will also be 18 Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the respective Podium Potential programmes. All Podium and Podium Potential athletics receive an Athlete Performance Award (APA) to support their Judo programme.
In addition to this, seven athletes are being offered support as Programme athletes which is funded directly by British Judo.
Three athletes will also receive support from the WCPP through the WRL 16 Programme. Following a review after the World Judo Championships, four athletes met the criteria and three athletes have taken up a place on the WRL 16 Programme.
All athletes on the WCPP receive a Coach led Individual Athlete Plan (IAP) with agreed training and competition goals. They will also have access to BOA Medical insurance and are supported by a comprehensive Sports Science and Sports Medicine programme and services.
Athletes exiting off the WCPP will receive transitional APA support as well as identified programme support for up to four months, which is based on the number of years they have been a member of the British Judo World Class Performance Programme.
Nigel Donohue, British Judo Performance Director, said:
“It has been another fantastic year across both our Olympic and Paralympic Programmes at junior and senior level.
“There have been a number of standout performances including: Sally Conway’s Paris Grand Slam gold; Nekoda Smythe-Davis’s silver at the World Judo Championships; three medals at the IBSA Judo World Championships and Shelley Ludford’s Junior World Judo Championships bronze.
“We’re continuing to medal consistently at all levels and we go into competitions with expectation rather than hope.
“This is an exciting and talented group of athletes to be working with. I’d like to thank their clubs and the Home Nation Programmes for their continued support and for helping to bring through these judoka.
“It’s an exciting time in this cycle. There are 18 months left in qualification and we feel we’re building momentum into Tokyo 2020.
“We just need to keep working hard and continue to build on the level of success of the last two years.”
Athletes on British Judo WCPP 2018 – 2019
PODIUM
Olympic
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Natalie Powell | Irfon Judo Club | Darren Warner |
| Nekoda Smythe-Davis | Ealing Judo Club | Jo Crowley |
| Jemima Yeats-Brown | Ryecroft Judo Club | Ian Oliver |
Paralympic
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Christopher Skelley | Haltemprice Judo Club | Jeff Brady |
| Elliot Stewart | Stewart Judo Academy | Dennis Stewart |
PODIUM POTENTIAL
Olympic
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Chelsie Giles | Coventry Judo Club | Simon Moss |
| Eric Ham | Glossop Judo Club | Geoff Ham |
| Gemma Howell | Wolverhampton Judo Club | Bill Kelly |
| Amy Livesey | S.K.K Judo Club | Peter Blood |
| Bekky Livesey | S.K.K Judo Club | Peter Blood |
| Shelley Ludford | Judo Club Osaka | Adrian Dove |
| Stuart McWatt | Garioch Judo Club | Stuart McWatt Snr |
| Lele Nairne | Bradley Stoke Judo Club | Pete Douglas |
| Jamal Petgrave | Westcroft Judo Club | Andy Ede |
| Lubjana Piovesana | Bishop Challoner RC School JC | Phil Hudson |
| Dan Powell | N/A | N/A |
| Lucy Renshall | S.K.K Judo Club | Peter Blood |
| Kelly Staddon | Ford Judo Club | Bill Taylor |
| Max Stewart | Stewart Judo Academy | Dennis Stewart |
| Acelya Toprak | Metro Judo Club | Mick Murphy |
Paralympic
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Jack Hodgson | Grimsby Judo Club | Terry Alltoft |
| Evan Molloy | Devizes Judo Club | N/A |
| Daniel Powell | N/A | N/A |
PROGRAMME
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Connah Anders | Worcester Judo Club 83 | N/A |
| Michael Fryer | Rush Judo Club | Laurie Rush |
| Wesley Greenidge | Enfield Judo Club | George Hyslop |
| Natalie Greenhough | Kin Ryu Judo Club | Lisa Harrison |
| Harry Lovell-Hewitt | Stroud Judo Club | Richard Neale |
| Lachlan Moorhead | Sheffield Judo Club | Matt Moorhead |
| Scott Thomson | Danderhall Judo Club/Destination Judo | Dave Reilly/Colin Woods |
WRL 16
| Athlete | Home Club | Home Coach |
| Sarah Adlington | Edinburgh Judo Club | Billy Cusack |
| Sally Conway | Edinburgh Judo Club | Billy Cusack |
| Alice Schlesinger | N/A | Pavel Musin |
