Welsh Judo Association

A reminder that our final two squad training sessions ahead of the Commonwealth Games are:

📅 Saturday 13 June - Sport Wales National Centre
📅 Saturday 18 July - Sport Wales National Centre

⏱️ Session Times

09:00-10:30 - Minor & Pre-Cadet
11:00-12:30 - Cadet, Junior & Senior
13:30-15:00 - Minor & Pre-Cadet
15:30-17:00 - Cadet, Junior & Senior

We'd love to see as many of you there as possible to give our team the best possible preperations in the lead up to Glasgow 2026. 🥋

We were delighted to host a Girls That Judo session with Olympic Gold Medallist and World Champion Cathy Fleury on Saturday! 🇫🇷

A massive thank you to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to Cathy for making it such a memorable day! 🥋

The Welsh Judo Association will introduce updated membership fees from 15 June 2026.

Please visit our website for full details.

https://tinyurl.com/yarnbt39

📢 Last chance to apply!

Applications for our Head of Performance & Pathway role will close at 12:00pm tomorrow. ⌛

Please visit our website for full details.

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗼 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻

The Welsh Judo Association (WJA) is pleased to confirm the appointment of Ben Withers as the association’s new Social Media and Content Creation Intern, following a competitive recruitment process.

The introduction of the Social Media and Content Creation Intern position forms part of the WJA’s renewed focus on strengthening its marketing and communications activity and has been created in response to feedback from the Welsh judo community’s request for more consistent communication about the sport and its activities.

Ben will work closely with the WJA team to deliver day-to-day digital communications, including managing social media channels, creating content, and supporting campaigns linked to events, development activity and performance programmes.

A key focus of the role will also see Ben engaging directly with clubs, coaches, participants and the wider judo community across Wales to capture experiences, bring stories to life and help promote and champion the sport.

“Ben stood out as an outstanding candidate throughout what was a very competitive process and we are delighted to welcome him to the team”, said WJA Chief Executive Officer, Ben Jeffreys. “This role is an important step for us as an organisation, and we are excited about the energy, creativity and fresh perspective Ben will bring.

“We are particularly looking forward to seeing how Ben will work with our clubs, coaches and wider community to highlight the great work happening across Wales and to help us tell those stories in a more impactful way.”

As a second year BA Sports Journalism student at the University of South Wales, with wider professional experience as a Media and Communications Intern for Cardiff City FC and a Journalist for Cwmni Golwg, Ben brings an impressive bank of experience to the role.

On joining the team, Ben said “I am delighted to join the WJA at such an exciting time for the sport. As a Sports Journalism student with a strong passion for social media and communications, I believe this role perfectly combines my skills and interests.

“I’m excited to hit the ground running during the crucial months leading up to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and beyond. I look forward to working with a wide range of people across the association to help deliver a communications strategy that truly connects with the community.”

A fantastic day at Irfon Judo Club in Brecon for the Finding Your Feet coach education course 👏

Delivered by Laurence Kenyon from British Judo, the course supported coaches in developing their knowledge of ukemi and safer falling activities for people aged 65+, helping to build confidence, mobility and wellbeing through judo.

It was brilliant to see 21 coaches from around 14 clubs attending, showing a real appetite across the Welsh judo community for coach education that can make an impact beyond the dojo.

Diolch to Laurence Kenyon, everyone at Irfon Judo Club, and all the coaches who attended and continue to help judo play a positive role in our communities 🥋

Want to get involved? Two more Finding Your Feet courses are coming up:

📍 Mold Judo Club
Mold Sports Centre, Mold, Flintshire
📅 Sunday 27 September 2026

📍 National Judo Centre – Cardiff
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
📅 Saturday 16 January 2027

Fantastic weekend at the Mandurah Oceania Open for the Welsh athletes:

-63kg Millie Bayliss🥇- Bradley Stoke Judo Club
-70kg Holly Devall 🥇- Dragons Academy
+100kg Josh Whitehouse🥇- Go Judo/ Judo Swansea
-73kg Ben Moore🥉- Bradley Stoke Judo Club
-81kg Kylan Aylward🥉- Dragons Academy

Junior Results:
-60kg Laurence Hill🥇- Dragons Academy

National Squad Training 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
📅 09/05/2026
📍 Sport Wales National Centre, Cardiff
💷 FREE