British Judo hosted a Paralympic Judo day at the British Judo Centre of Excellence, Walsall on Saturday 13th June.

The event was attended by over 20 people, all involved with visually impaired judo, from coaching to players competing at a high level. Amongst those on the mat was current GB Paralympic squad member and IBSA World Games bronze medallist, Chris Skelley.

The day is the second visually impaired development day hosted by British Judo, the first of which took place at the Copperbox Arena at the Olympic park in London.

British Judo’s Paralympic Coach, Ian Johns said: “It was an awesome session today and an absolute pleasure to be part of. It was fantastic to see VI athletes of all ages and abilities sharing the same mat. Chris Skelley was a big hit with the youngsters and they hung on to his every word when he spoke of his journey so far.

“Denny Roberts [British Judo’s Paralympic Pathway Officer] has done a great job of putting this session together as we need to focus on recruiting athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and beyond.

“It is vital that the VI program continue to search for the athletes of the future and today’s session was another great step towards finding our next Paralympians. We have another Paralympic Judo day taking place in Cardiff on Saturday 4th July, so if you are interested please get in touch.”

Want to get involved in visually impaired judo? Contact vijudo@britishjudo.org.uk for more information.