The British Special Needs Judo team starred at the inaugural Shensu Championships in Venray, Holland as they claimed seven individual medals and won the Team event.

The British team consisted of Alex Ferrier (SJC Alba), Cameron Black (SJC Alba), John Kane (Aberdeen JC), Christopher Murphy (Pro JC), David Woodland (Kodachi HC), Richard Cooke (Edinburgh JC), and Andrew Smith (Clyde JC).

The high-flying visitors won all three team matches in emphatic fashion as they ran out 6-1 winners in each round to take the gold medal with 12 of those victories coming by way of ippon.

In the individual event Alex Ferrier and David Woodland took gold while Cameron Black, Chris Murphy, John Kane and Richard Cooke claimed silver as Andrew Smith won bronze.

Dutch officials hailed the British players efforts and even described their performances as being among the best displays of judo they had seen anywhere in the Olympic sport.

This result is undoubtedly a marker of the progress being made by British Special Needs Judo over the past five years since the first British Special Needs Judo Championships were held in Walsall in 2006.

The Dutch Judo Bond is recognised as one of the most progressive and forward looking governing bodies in world judo for Special Needs Judo andin the Special Needs field and attracts the world's top Special Needs judoka to their international events.

British Special Needs Judo team official Duncan Hewitson said: "In noting this result recognition must be given to the BJA Inclusion Commission and their Chairman Dave Clark for the support and encouragement they have shown over recent years for the development of Special Needs judo in the UK.

"The Commission’s work is now bearing fruit and builds on the work first started by Roy Court and his Welsh Integrated Sports Plan (WISP) group and continued by Ron and Jean Cleere (Stokenchurch JC) as well as Ken Thorne (Kodachi JC) in England. The Scottish Special Needs Judo Group support most of this current British team and the future is looking promising for Special Needs judo in the British Isles as coaches and clubs everywhere come to re-interpret the old adage ‘Judo for All’.

"Only a couple of weeks ago The Irish Judo Association held their first Special Needs judo event in Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Open Championships. Their programme is led by James Mulroy who is working hard to establish a national Special Needs judo programme for Ireland and here in Britain we eagerly await the first Irish players to participate in a British Special Needs Open Championships."