The most important topics that came up at the working meetings in North Macedonia:

• Skopje will apply to host a European Junior Championship in the next couple of years.
• The EJU will provide the national judo federation with 300 children’s judogi, and the National Olympic Committee will finance 800 square metres of judo mats.
• National coaches will be joining the international IJF Academy training and development programme.
• Skopje is bidding for the next summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival, judo will be a fixed part of the submitted sports programme.
• Further EJU education projects, such as Adaptive Judo, are to be introduced or sustainably established.
• The North Macedonian government recently launched an infrastructure offensive with 20 new sports halls. The EJU project “Judo in the School” will be offered in these new halls as soon as possible.
• Together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the training and promotion of top judoka is to be launched according to foreign models (as in AUT, CRO, FRA, GER, HUN, among others, where top judoka are accommodated in the police sports programme during their career and can enter the police service afterwards).
• The MKD-Government has expressed interest in hosting European Police Judo Championships in the coming years.

The post SKOPJE GETS READY appeared first on European Judo Union.

The post TRULY SATISFIED appeared first on European Judo Union.

“It will be our most important event in 2024 and the last major qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Paris. We are happy to have found an ideal venue in Zagreb. The Croatian Judo Federation has great experience in organising major events. We could not have made a better choice,” said László Tóth. Hrvoje Lindi was equally delighted: “We have been working towards this moment since 2005, since the European Championships Cadets in Zagreb, to be able to organise an event of this magnitude. We are extremely excited.”

Double world champion Barbara MATIC hopes “that our team will win a lot of medals next year – and I hope to be one of them. It’s a special feeling to be able to fight in front of your own audience at an international tournament.”

The post ZAGREB 2024 appeared first on European Judo Union.

The more we communicate directly with those involved, the more accurately we can tailor our support to the different needs,

explains Kneitinger. The bare figures show that EJU aid is becoming even more efficient year after year. Financial aid or aid in kind within the EJU pandemic programme totalled one million euros in the last two years. More than 200,000 euros was transferred to the Ukrainian federation in the previous year in the form of emergency crisis aid.

What does the EJU support for the national federations look like in concrete terms this year?

We offer mats, judogi and scales at special prices. We pay for athletes from smaller countries to take part in training camps and competitions. In the case of Ukraine, in addition to direct aid, we have also instructed all organisers to exempt the Ukrainian team from participation fees. Furthermore, we are also helping the tournament organisers with the purchase of various materials.

At the World Championships in Doha at the beginning of May, Kneitinger, together with President László TOTH, will hold further talks with European federation representatives, athletes and coaches. The main topic: where and how the EJU can help in the preparation for the next top events, first and foremost the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The post YES WE CAN! appeared first on European Judo Union.

I would like to congratulate all European champions and medallists of these Olympic Games, all member federations, coaches and specialists involved in their preparation. I also congratulate everyone who qualified and wanted to achieve a medal. It’s been a hard year prior to the Games due to the pandemic and we could not properly implement our system of preparation (OTCs and competitions). I am sure we came up short of medals for Europe.

However all of our results are very important and valuable. I am especially proud of our achievement at the mixed team event which is a new discipline at the Olympics thanks to IJF and President Marius Vizer, Europe won there the gold and both bronze medals. I am proud of the amazing spirit of our judoka, and I am sure that in Paris, Europe will participate even more honorably.

With appreciation,

Sergey Soloveychik
President
European Judo Union

The post THE PRIDE OF EUROPEAN JUDO appeared first on European Judo Union.

I would like to congratulate and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

The year 2020 was difficult but important. The Olympic Games were postponed, human activity was blocked, but since October the IJF and EJU re-started our calendar despite the pandemic threat. We demonstrated to all, all over the world that judo stands up to the pandemic.

I am proud of the courage and enthusiasm of our judo people.

I wish to all of you to stay in good health and shape, together with your family members and judo family.

See you in person in 2021!

Sincerely, Sergey Soloveychik

The post MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE PRESIDENT appeared first on European Judo Union.

President of the European Judo Union, Mr Sergey Soloveychik welcomed all, adding,

It gives me great pleasure and honour to welcome you today at the EJU Congress. It is the first time we have it in digital format and I thank you for supporting this initiative as the safest way to meet and exchange all news and experiences. At the same time I hope it is the only time when we have it online because we all want to meet in person, to hug and spend time together as always.

EJU Member Federation and team

EJU Member Federation and team

A moment of silence was declared in solidarity with those who have sadly suffered as a result of the global pandemic and the challenges this has caused not only the judo community but all of mankind. 

It was with great caution and huge assistance from medical officials that both the IJF and EJU managed to reinstate competition for the professional athletes leading up to the postponed Olympic Games in 2021. 

I would like to thank our colleagues from the EJU team and national federations of Croatia and Czech Republic for their courage, and I also thank all coaches, referees and judokas who proved that judo can defeat the pandemic. A special thanks goes to the professional team of the EJU medical committee who managed to control the situation. 

International Judo Federation President, Mr Marius Vizer relayed his gratitude to the EJU during this trying period. 

I want to congratulate you all for the achievement in the last four years. As well the courage, solidarity, unity, loyalty to our sport during the corona crisis. 

I want to appreciate the good cooperation between IJF and EJU for the continuous development of judo. Good luck to Sergey Soloveychik for the election. You always do a good job. We are closing a very difficult year – a crisis which affected the entire society and especially the sport. I am sure we will overcome this period and together we will become even stronger. 

We can announce that Otto Kneitinger, Rumen Stoilov and Martin Poiger have joined the executive team, Otto as the Vice President of Marketing, Rumen as Education Director and Martin, elected Director of Head Office. 

Otto is of course returning to the EJU as a former team and honorary member.

If a friend is asking you it would be impolite to refuse this request, especially when it comes from Sergey Soloveychik. So I am glad to be back in the EJU.

I would like to contribute to promote the EJU as a modern sport continental federation. Media & Marketing work should be on the highest level. I know it is a difficult time to develop something new. But if we work all together we are able to move mountains. My motto: Does not go, is not possible. 

The belief supported by team members, Otto stated,

We are in the same opinion as our president and that the focus should be on our federations and how we can support them after this troubling year. Mr Soloveychik explained that there are two priorities of the EJU including Olympic results of European athletes and the development of education projects for children.

The new Director for Education, Rumen continued, 

First of all, I would like to thank you for your trust by proposing me as a member of the EJU Education Committee.

The main priorities we will work on in the next year are: Together with my colleagues to develop a work program for the development of judo at all levels in the educational system. A strategic plan will be developed, the basics and accents will be realised in the Judo Champions League for participation and distribution of judo in school. I hope that in this period of digital education together we will be able to make the future of students more diverse through judo classes. 

Martin, who is also President of the Austrian Judo Federation has worked in the EJU for some time now and is a great attribute to the strong team he continues to direct.

I am honoured and grateful to be invited to the elected executive position, continuing to work with all sectors and federations.

Mr Sergey Soloveychik closed the elections with a tribute to our former executive team members, 

On behalf of EJU I would like to thank Mr. Peter Frese and Mr. Ernesto Perez who worked with us as EJU Marketing and Education directors in the last 4 years. 

Our motto is “Judo – more than sport”. The mission of all of us – not only to teach principles and techniques of judo but also to popularise the values of judo: friendship, respect, honesty amongst young generation of Europeans. The same way as it should be in our big and strong family. The family of European Judo Union. 

The post 72nd EJU ORDINARY CONGRESS 2020 appeared first on European Judo Union.

The National Sports Award is one of the main sports awards in Russia. The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, together with fans and experts, summed up the voting results for the eleventh time and named the best in eleven nominations. A landmark event in the history of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, the event combined pride in the achievements in the history of Russian sports, the fate of the heroes of Russian sports of the past, present and future. In past years, such famous persons as Evgenia Kanaeva, Elena Isinbaeva, Alexander Legkov, Maria Lasitskene, Eteri Tutberidze, Irina Viner-Usmanova became the winners of this Prize award.

This year, athletes, coaches, sports organizations, media representatives, as well as regions of Russia and sports facilities, thanks to which sports are becoming increasingly popular in the country, were awarded the title of laureate and the prize.

The martial arts were represented by judo and the judo community was represented by Mr. Sergey Soloveychik for the active implementation of international projects, contribution to the improvement of the image of Russian judo in Europe and the holding of prestigious continental competitions in Russia, for securing the sympathy of fans and many years activity in strengthening international sports relations.

During his awardee speech Mr Soloveychik said:

The motto of EJU is “Judo – more than sport”. Such a slogan can be applied to any kind of martial art, because any combat sport is education, friendship and mutual supportiveness. Therefore, this award is not only mine, but also for my like-minded people, my colleagues, my friends who supported me and judo at such a crucial moment. And, of course, this is a victory for judo!

The post SERGEY SOLOVEYCHIK IS A LAUREATE OF THE NATIONAL SPORTS PRIZE appeared first on European Judo Union.