Nigel Donohue Leaves Role as Performance Director

British Judo’s Nigel Donohue has left his position as Performance Director as of Friday 14th March this week.

Donohue was appointed in March 2013, replacing Daniel Lascau following the London 2012 Olympic Games and has been instrumental in shaping the strategic direction of British Judo’s World Class Performance Programme, aiming to foster an environment where elite athletes can thrive.

During his tenure, he oversaw significant milestones for British Judo including:

• The rise of female athletes such as Chelsie Giles, Lucy Renshall, Natalie Powell, Nekoda Smythe-Davis and Sally Conway, with Powell, Giles and Renshall becoming British Judo’s first ever World No.1 athletes,
• Multiple Olympic and Paralympic medal wins across Rio, Tokyo and Paris,
• The introduction of the centralised World Class Performance Programme at British Judo’s National Training Centre in Walsall.

Before joining British Judo, Donohue had an illustrious career both as an athlete and as a Coach. He was crowned European Champion in 1995 and represented Great Britain at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games in Barcelona and Atlanta respectively – finishing seventh place in the latter.

Post-retirement, he served as National Coach with Judo Scotland and later as England Judo Lead Coach, contributing significantly to the preparation and performance of British judoka at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Chief Executive Andrew Scoular was full of admiration for Nigel’s hard work and dedication to the role since being in post:

“As British Judo transitions to new leadership and direction of our WCPP strategy, the foundations laid by Nigel offer a robust platform for continued success. The focus remains on building upon the achievements of the past decade to further elevate the sport within the UK and on the international stage.​”

“It marks the end of a significant chapter in British Judo, leaving behind a legacy of dedication, strategic vision, and a commitment to excellence that will influence the sport for years to come.”

“We will be shortly formalising the recruitment process for our new Performance Director and will confirm the application process in due course.”

“I would like to place on record my thanks for Nigel’s dedication and hard work to transform Great British Judo across European and World competition, and we wish him well for the future.”

Statement from Nigel Donohue:

I would like to thank the Board, in particular Kerrith Brown and Ronnie Saez our previous Chairs and the CEO Andrew, who gave me their backing during my time as the British Judo Performance Director and the Performance Leadership Team, who have given me insurmountable support to lead the World Class Programme.

I started Judo as 9-year-old with Alan Jones at AJ Leigh back in 1979. AJ Leigh was a unique and a head of its time club, in that it was a Judo and Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Club that I went on to have an amazing career within both sports and whereupon retiring in 1998, I have held National roles in Scotland, England and then the honour of being the British Judo Performance Director.

It has been a privilege to work for British Judo for over 16 years, 12 years as Performance Director, where I was tasked to build, develop and embed a World Class Performance System from the ground upwards, that I am proud to have led with a fantastic Team. We have achieved incredible success both on and off the mat at Junior, Senior, Olympic and Paralympic Games level and additionally, we have brought credibility, respect, trust and confidence to our sport with our stakeholders – UK Sport, UKSI, TeamGB, Paralympics, who have provided extraordinary support and investment (through UK Sport and the National Lottery) over the last 3 cycles and now going into LA. We have also forged a brilliant partnership with the University of Wolverhampton.

I have worked with, and have, an outstanding group of Coaches and Team at the National Training Centre and the wider NGB who have massively contributed to the success of the World Class Programme for who, I am indebted to for their commitment, dedication, professionalism and loyalty to ensuring the fighters receive the best possible support and care – Team, your support was always greatly appreciated by myself and look upon you as friends for life.

I leave British Judo knowing that we have built a solid foundation for future success in LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032. I have no doubt that we will see our fighters continue to thrive and perform on the world stage and ultimately at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For myself, I am conscious that I have been an absent father and absent husband for the last 27 years, such are the demands and commitment required when working in elite performance. I now have the time to spend with my family – Julie, Danielle, Adam, Michael and Caitlin and our grandchildren, for who without their support, I could not have committed as I did in the posts that I have held throughout my career.

Thank you, it’s been a privilege and honour to have held the post of Performance Director in my chosen sport, one that I took with great responsibility, took very seriously and gave it my all in the best interest of British Judo. Wishing everyone in our sport, much success for the future. Nigel

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