“As long as we coexist, each member of society and the groups organised within must function in harmony and cooperation with the others. Nothing is more important than living prosperously together. If everyone acts with the spirit of cooperation, each person’s work benefits not only himself, but also others, and attaining this together will bring mutual happiness.”

Jigoro Kano Founder of Judo

The British Judo Association The BJA Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Advisory Group is looking for new members (particularly to represent the lived experience of members from the LGBTQ+ and Invisible Disabilities Community) to seek further development of its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, focusing on gender, ethnicity, economic background, disability and sexuality, and is committed to further engage with members, athletes, clubs and areas.

We have a Diversity Action Plan and are working towards completion and submission of our DIAP A Code for Sports Governance | Sport England in 2024.

However, we are always looking at ways to improve and develop, and we know that we need to hold all our practices up for scrutiny and challenge to see where we might make improvements. The recent events across the world, and especially the Black Lives Matter movement highlight sharply for us that it is not enough to just have a policy and say we are anti-discriminatory, we have to actively behave as such, and demonstrably and tangibly be an organisation that supports diversity in all forms.

Facilitated by Board Member Paul Ajala, the group assists with creating and shaping a framework for reporting to members, through the BJA D&I Steering Group and will further the action plan that will be delivered to the Board during the next 12 months.

We are looking for inspirational members to join the D&I Advisory Group, as we are underrepresented by members with lived experience from the LGBTQ+ and Invisible Disabilities community and we are interested in receiving applications from across all corners of the association.

If you feel you can make a real difference to the British Judo community, please apply by providing no more than 500 words about why you feel equality, diversity and inclusion is important in British Judo, what you feel you will be able to add to the group, and some examples of your personal experience of equality, diversity and inclusion within the sport.

If you have difficulty in producing text, please contact justine.lynch@britishjudo.org.uk and we will be able to facilitate a short video call whereby you will be able to answer the application questions.

Please send your application to andrew.bowly@britishjudo.org.uk  by Friday 9^th February 2024