100 Mile House’s Ian Briggs has been elected president of Judo B.C.
Briggs, Kokoro Judo’s longtime sensei and owner of Montane Forest Consultants, was appointed president last week after the board voted him in to replace outgoing president Donna Hanson. He said he’s still surprised he was chosen for the role, noting he wasn’t part of the board before now, but is excited at the opportunity to promote judo in a new way.
“The past president called me and asked if I would like to stand for the position. My first reaction was ‘Surely you have someone else, I have zero experience with this sort of thing,” Briggs, 61, said. “The main reason they were interested in me is my business background and the fact I’ve been in judo for the last 20 years.”
Judo B.C. is the governing body in charge of all sanctioned and registered judo clubs across the province. It’s dedicated to the growth of judo across B.C. as a martial art, way of life and a fitness/health activity.
Briggs said that his appointment is part of a larger push by judo organizations to modernize and diversify their leadership. When he first started practicing judo the majority of the upper leaderships were primarily held by old Japanese men. Since then he said the hierarchy has changed to reflect the people currently practicing judo throughout B.C.
In the next few months, Briggs has no plans to make any major changes to Judo B.C.’s priorities. Because of his lack of experience, he said he intends to spend the majority of his time learning the ropes of the job. He’ll be responsible for sharing B.C. Judo’s board meetings, overseeing its committees and making sure all their clubs are adhering to their rules and procedures.
“I’m a little bit on my back foot right now but that’s fine too because there are no issues with Judo B.C. Everyone gets along, it’s running well and really it’s a good time for me to step in,” Briggs said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
As he gets more comfortable in the role, Briggs said he intends to carry on making Judo B.C. an inclusive place for all genders and age groups. He noted that right now only 27 per cent of their membership is female and he’d like to see that number grow.
Growth is something Briggs is confident will not be an issue. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he said numbers at Kokoro Judo in 100 Mile House have increased by 10 per cent.
“Something good happened after COVID. People decided to get out and make lifestyle changes and judo has benefitted from that,” Briggs said. “The latest thing in sports right now is sports with values. In judo, we have two guiding principles: mutual benefit which means everyone needs to benefit from judo and maximum efficiency. Those principles permeate everything we do (at Judo B.C.)”
