Statement: Tokyo 2020 Annual Review

Following the Tokyo 2020 Annual Review, British Judo have received a reduction of £70,000 in funding across the British Judo World-Class Performance Programme (WCPP).

This funding had been earmarked to support onsite accommodation at the British Judo Centre of Excellence.

Following the planned reduction in onsite accommodation at the Centre of Excellence in 2017, the decision was made by UK Sport to remove this funding and put it back into the wider sporting high-performance system in Great Britain.

This reduction does not affect the wider WCPP and the Programme’s ability to support the performances and wellbeing of the athletes and staff as we move closer to the start of Tokyo 2020 qualification.

In 2017 British Judo matched or exceeded everyone one of its Milestone targets including winning two bronze medals at the World Championships in Budapest, our best return at a Worlds since 2007.

Nigel Donohue, British Judo Performance Director: “We had a very positive 2017 when we matched or exceeded our milestone targets across the Programme.

“There has been a change to our medal target for the 2018 IBSA World Championships this year and we feel that is a positive reflection on the strength of the athletes we currently have on the Paralympic Programme.

“We’re looking forward to the start of qualification for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games later this year.”

Andrew Scoular, British Judo Chief Executive: “We are in a strong position heading into 2018. While we have had a slight reduction in funding this won’t affect our ability to support the athletes and staff on the World-Class Performance Programme.

“I’d like to thank Nigel and his team for their hard work and dedication. I’m very confident that we will continue to see positive performances and results over the next three years as we head into Tokyo.

“We will also continue to work closely with UK Sport over the coming months and years to sustain and develop our culture on the WCPP for the benefit of our athletes and staff.”