Welsh Judo is delighted to announce that Michael Horley has been appointed as National Coach.

Horley represented the Great Britain Judo Team for a number of years, with career highlights including competing at the 2010 Tokyo World Championships, ranking number 1 on the European Ranking list in 2013 and winning numerous European Cup medals, including the prestigious German Open.

Following his competitive career, Horley transitioned into coaching. Following his role at Judo Scotland, where he worked as part of their High Performance Programming, Michael moved to Canada to begin working as a High Performance Coach for Judo Saskatchewan, a role that saw him contribute to the success of judo in Canada by supporting the performance pathway over the past four years.

Welsh Judo CEO Lucy Scott expressed,

“I am absolutely delighted to appoint Michael as Welsh Judo’s new National Coach.

Michael brings a wealth of experience from strong Judo nations that spans across the whole pathway, which is a fundamental pillar in our new strategy.

We look forward to Michael starting with us in June and meeting the Welsh Judo community.

We are also pleased to announce that Team Bath will be supporting us at our Tuesday National Randori until Michael starts.

A huge thanks to Team Bath coaches Gregg Varey and Adam Hall for their support.”

Welsh Judo is extremely excited to appoint Michael as National Coach as we focus on the next stage of our journey to ensure we unlock our full potential and collectively build a better society through Judo.