Successful Sport and Performance Division workshop

Dr Ross Cloak, CPD Rep for the Sport and Performance Division, in collaboration with British Judo and the University of Wolverhampton, planned a Combat Sport workshop, which took place at the British Judo Olympic and Paralympic National Training Centre in Walsall on 21 January 2023.

35 delegates attended the full-day event which included insight and discussion about the role of sports science in combat sport. Delegates heard from a range of researchers and practitioners from across combat sports on key topics including sports science, nutrition, analysis and strength and conditioning.

Throughout the day, there was a mix of talks and practical sessions as well as the opportunity for delegates to network. Chris Barry, Senior Performance Analyst & Technical Coach, shared his Preparations for Tokyo 2020 and beyond, Jacob Eyres, Lead physiotherapist for British Judo, led a mat-based practical on Return to play, how the physio and coach work together, Dr Chris Kirk presented Training load assessment in combat sports to avoid guessing - Examples from the field, Dr Carl Langdan-Evans’ session was Making Weight in Combat Sports: Lessons Learned from the Labs and the Field to Employ in Practice, Mitchell Finlay presented on Physical preparation in amateur boxing, Prof Andy Lane FBASES and Prof Yoko Tanabe led a session on Psychological preparation for combat sport, which was followed by Lauran Jackson and Mark Niemz discussing Strength Diagnostics in Elite Judoka. The day concluded with a discussion on the next steps for those interested in collaborating on future combat sport events.

Commenting on the success of the event, Dr Ross Cloak said, “This was the first combat sport workshop hosted with British Judo at the University of Wolverhampton and my first face-face event as CPD Rep for the Sport and Performance Division. It was a great day with lots of excellent presentations on topics like weight making, injury rehabilitation and goal setting in combat sport, with lots of opportunity for knowledge exchange between participants. The idea of the event was first sparked during one of our Division Days within the feedback from members on what CPD they would like. We had a diverse audience at the event from around the UK and Europe and are already making plans for future events.”