Two British Squads Prepare for International Action in Riga and Venray
November 13, 2026
Two squads of British judoka will head to Europe this weekend to compete at the Riga Judo Hopes Tournament in Latvia and the Venray Get Together Tournament in the Netherlands.
Riga Judo Hopes Tournament 2026
Bence Varga (Wirral JC) will compete in the -38kg category, arriving in Riga in good form after securing gold at last month’s Welsh Open, alongside a fifth-place finish at the Brno Judo Hopes Tournament.
Callum Dodds (Tees Valley JC) will take on the -50kg field, having finished fifth at the Welsh Open last month and claimed gold at last year’s British Schools Championships.
George Thomas (Huddersfield JC) and Dima Romanov (Tees Valley JC) will compete in the -55kg and -60kg categories respectively, both looking to build on successful campaigns. Thomas has secured bronze medals at both the Welsh Open and British Schools Championships this year, while Romanov claimed silver at the Welsh Open and bronze at the British Schools.
In the women’s categories, Isabella Moss (Tees Valley JC) will take on the -40kg category after securing bronze medals at both the Welsh Open and British Schools Championships, while Grace Melia (Kodokwai JC) enters the -44kg division following her bronze-medal performance at the Welsh Open.
The -48kg category will feature Sophia Austin (Tees Valley JC), who also claimed bronze at the Welsh Open, alongside Eva Thomas (Huddersfield JC). Neve Dodds (Tees Valley JC) completes the -52kg entry, looking to build on her own bronze-medal performance at the Welsh Open.
The -57kg category rounds off the British squad, with Evelyn Doherty (Tees Valley JC) and Darcy Davies (Ford JC) both in action. Doherty most recently competed at the Same Judo Cup 10 in Poland, where she secured two bronze medals across different age categories, adding to her silver at the Ostrava Judo Open earlier this year. Davies arrives as the reigning Welsh Open champion after taking gold last month, having also secured silver at the Brno Judo Hopes Tournament.
Venray Get Together Tournament
Jonas Vaitekunas (All Saints JA) arrives in Venray having already secured silver medals at both the Gdansk and Kortrijk Get Together Tournaments this year. He will be joined by Izak Buys (Tsu-Mo-Kie JC), who also claimed silver in Gdansk, while Kyle Tower (Burwell JC) will be looking to build on his gold-medal performance in Kortrijk during the summer.
Braydon Robus (Keisen JC) and Jaden Stewart (Kanokwai JC) both competed at last week’s European Adapted Championships, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. Robus has also enjoyed a successful year on the Get Together circuit, claiming gold in Gdansk and silver in Kortrijk.
The men’s squad also features Henry Harding (Rush Judo), Craig Edwards, Alexander Apostu (All Saints JA), Charlie Claydon (All Saints JA), Samuel Howard (All Saints JA), Harry Refsum (Rush Judo), Keiran Howard (All Saints JA), Christian Elford (Rush Judo), Ieuan Hannah (Kin Ryu JC), James John Gallacher (Kanokwai JC), Archie Williams (Destination Judo) and Daniel Geuting, with several preparing to make their Get Together Tournament debuts.
On the women’s side, Skye Westwood (Rush Judo) has enjoyed an outstanding run of results, claiming bronze at last week’s European Adapted Championships, alongside gold medals at the Kortrijk and Gdansk Get Together Tournaments and the Adapted Grand Slam in Lausanne.
Sophia Robus (Keisen JC) also arrives in excellent form following gold at last weekend’s Belgrade Adapted Judo Competition, adding to silver at the Gdansk and bronze at the Kortrijk Get Together Tournaments earlier this year. Hanna Bancer (Leicester JA) has also enjoyed a successful campaign, securing silver at the Belgrade competition and in Kortrijk, as well as bronze in Gdansk.
Elizabeth Turner (Rush Judo) will be looking to build on her bronze-medal performance at the Gdansk Get Together Tournament, while Georgina Grayson (Cherry JC) returns following a silver medal at the Kortrijk competition earlier this year. Amy MacDonald (Sportif) also arrives in good form after taking gold at her most recent Get Together Tournament in Gdansk.
Completing the women’s squad are Macy Allen (Medway Park) and Amelie Hannah (Keisen JC), who will both make their Get Together Tournament debuts.
Good luck to all the British judoka competing in Riga and Venray this weekend!
