Honouring a Lifetime of Commitment: Sue Collins Recognised with President’s Award

Samurai Judo Club in Kidderminster was the setting for an emotional and heartfelt celebration on Sunday as Sue Collins was presented with the prestigious President’s Award by British Judo President Rowena Birch 7th Dan.

The award recognises Sue’s decades of service, innovation, and leadership across British Judo—with an impact felt by athletes, referees, volunteers, and entire communities.

Presenting the President’s Award, Birch began by reflecting on Sue’s enormous contribution to British Judo. She described her strongest memories of Sue at the British Schools Championships:

“My strongest memory is seeing her whizzing—no, gliding—up and down at the National Schools Championships in a wheelchair, with a sense of calm, getting the competition working, supporting people, solving problems quickly using her experience.”

Birch emphasised that selecting Sue for the award was simple:

“It was a very easy decision, to be honest. For so many years she was the face of the British Schools Championships and ran it so smoothly. We just took it for granted—she made it look easy.”

She added that, in Sue’s absence in recent years:

“We realised just what a difference she made for British Judo—for developing judoka, for developing officials, referees, adaptive judo, visually impaired judo. Absolutely fantastic.”

Birch then told the story of Sue’s progression through the sport:

“Sue started because her children started. Like the parents here today, she knows what that’s like. After a little time, she put herself out of her comfort zone, became a timekeeper, a recorder… and it wasn’t long before she was pushed to start running competitions.”

Sue soon became known for her organisational talent and calm leadership, running events such as the Wychavon competition for many years. Despite early doubts about having a national competition controller in a wheelchair:

“They soon realised that her dedication, her skills, and her capabilities were exactly what we needed.”

Sue’s influence on the British Schools Championships was profound. She advocated for meaningful developmental opportunities—not just for athletes, but for referees and officials too.

Birch emphasised:

“She was instrumental in pushing for junior referees to be allowed to referee at that level, with support around them… and many of them have now moved on to international refereeing.”

Sue echoed this pride:

“I think we need to say that I was instrumental in getting junior officials at the schools.”

She also led the groundbreaking introduction of adaptive and visually impaired judo alongside mainstream competition:

“She instigated adaptive and visually impaired judo running alongside the mainstream… it was very emotional and opened so many people’s eyes to the breadth of opportunities for people of all abilities.”

Sue reflected warmly on that achievement:

“It was so wonderful to be able to include the adaptive players—it made so much difference.”

In addition to hands-on event management, Sue played a crucial role in shaping the wider direction of British Judo through the Education Commission, British Schools Commission, and Adaptive Judo Commission—highlighting her role as a forward-thinking leader who helped British Judo evolve

The dojo erupted in applause as Birch concluded:

“We have so much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate. Please put your hands together for Sue Collins.”

The moment was a fitting tribute to someone whose vision and dedication helped shape a more inclusive, developmental, and community-centred future for British Judo.

Sue’s leadership has left an indelible impact—introducing new systems, empowering young officials, championing inclusion, and quietly lifting others for decades. Though humble in receiving the award, her influence has been anything but small.

Her journey shows what can be achieved when passion, perseverance, and kindness meet opportunity—and the entire judo community is stronger because of her.

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