CAMPAIGN UPDATE
From John Goldman

The Campaign continues its quest to ensure the rights of independent judo groups are maintained and is in continuing communication with the authorities to resolve UKCC issues.

Our demands are simple. We insist there is equality and equity for all who wish to attain the UKCC award in or out of a National Governing Body (NGB) in the case of judo the British Judo Association (BJA).

Principally we say:

1.    Non-NGB people are entitled to access the UKCC on equal terms, and without prejudice, as those in the NGB.
 

The pre-entry criteria to the judo UKCC is, for non-NGB people, discriminatory.
 

The BJA have said that those wishing to access UKCC courses must hold either (a) a BJA grade or (b) a “Grade of equivalence”.
 

This “Grade of equivalence” is designed, based on BJA syllabus, and administered by the BJA. Only when non-BJA people have successfully passed the BJA’s  ‘competence testing’ process, and been granted a “Grade of equivalence”, will they be entitled to apply to be considered as a candidate on a BJA UKCC course
 

The BJA have levied a minimum charge (there may be additional costs) of £200 for non-BJA members to take this test.
 

We say that access to the UKCC, a national award, must be open to all on equal terms.
 

In response to our complaint, the Coaching Standards Group, CSG, (sports coach UK), have said the £200 ‘competence test’ charge is, “unreasonably high”. The CEO of scUK has written to tell me that he has written to the BJA raising the CSG findings.
 

Separate to any question of costs, we have, first and foremost, called for a full enquiry into the whole issue of “competence testing”. We maintain that non-BJA people are equally as fully-qualified and competent as those in the BJA; in many instances to a greater standard.
 

2.    Fully-qualified non-NGB coaches are entitled to map over their awards to UKCC on equal terms, and without prejudice, as those in the NGB.

Our continuing insistence, and demonstration to the authorities, that there are different approaches, even ‘styles’, of judo, (the BJA have branded their judo “Olympic Judo”) has recently led to the Minister for Sport stating he recognises that there are different disciplines of judo. The Minister has confirmed that scUK have written to the BJA expressing a “strong desire” that “UKCC qualifications must be more accessible to these different disciplines of judo”.

We insist that teachers/coaches, within these now acknowledged “different disciplines” of judo in independent judo groups outside of BJA, are fully-qualified, in many instances more qualified than those in the NGB, are recognised as so, and have every right to map over their qualifications to the UKCC qualification on equal terms as those in the NGB.

I am in communication with Sport England on the above matters. Apart from the clear injustices in the way the UKCC has been developed and implemented, we say present UKCC criteria does not adhere to the core values and equality commitments of Sport England and fails to achieve the required level of Sport England’s Equality Standard.
 

Sport England has written to say they are in the process of reviewing my comments and the current procedures.
 

I will of course keep this forum posted on any developments.
 

Good wishes,
 

John Goldman
 

Campaign leader