Following the Government’s latest updates on the current situation, whilst it is clear that certain elements of the lockdown are being relaxed, British Judo still finds itself in an unpredictable scenario whereby we do not know when we can return to our beloved Dojos up and down the country.

It is clear that we cannot return just yet.

Rest assured, however, we are working hard behind the scenes preparing a detailed strategy and plan that will enable us to return quickly when that time comes. We are working with the Government to ensure that alongside other sports, we are returning to action in a safe and appropriate way as soon as we are able to. Please bear with us whilst we finalise this plan and please note that any premature return to sport will mean that you are not insured.

For the sake of our sport, it is vital that you wait until the British Judo Association has endorsed the return. We are aware that other countries are circulating advice on getting back to sport, please note that whilst we are sharing best practice with the Judo world, these documents do not apply to British Judo as other countries are not necessarily on the same timeline in terms of their progression through Covid-19.

To this end, we are implementing a three-pronged approach that we will work towards for an eventual return – Protect, Prepare, Promote.

Protect refers to the last few months. As you know, we have been working hard to keep clubs and membership informed about the current situation, as well as offering our support and flagging available funding from Sport England. During this time, our priority has been protecting the sport and our members.

Prepare refers to what we are doing right now. In conjunction with the British Government and our partners, such as Sport England and UK Sport, we are working hard on contingency plans around a return to sport. The current assumption is that some kind of social distancing will be in place for some time to come and once we know for sure, we will be issuing guidance to all clubs about what that means for Judo.

Promote refers to what is being described as the ‘new normal.’ When we are able to get back to some kind of normality, the whole sport will need to come together to bring our existing membership safely back into the sport – and of course, attract new members. Again, we are developing our plans with regards to this.

The above graphic details the approach that we will adopt but we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how you see the sport returning to “normal” – based on the assumptions that social distancing measures and other restrictions stay in place. The Judo family will need to unite in the coming months in order to get our sport back on to a solid foundation.

If you would like to contribute any ideas to the strategy, please contact us using the below form.

Note that it is likely our elite athletes will be able to return to work before the rest of the Judo community – we will update you on this and share any best practice that may be relevant.

In the meantime, our commitment to you is that we will keep you informed every step of the way and as soon as we are able, provide clear guidance about the return to the sport we love.