In an extraordinary General Assembly on the 12th of October, Dr Martin Poiger was elected as the new President of the Austrian Judo Federation, with 100% of the votes, together with a strong team. EJU Vice president Dr. Hans Paul Kutschera did not stand for elections, he had been leading the federation since 2004. The election had become necessary since the withdrawal of 8 board members in September.
After the election, President Poiger said,
It was not my goal to be the new president but the special circumstances have persuaded me to take the responsibility for the Austrian Judo Federation in this difficult situation. I am happy about the election result for me and my team. It shows that the Austrian Judo Family fully trust us and we will give our best.
The cancellation of the World Championships was a big surprise for all of us and we regret this step of the IJF. The main goal is now to speak with all concerned partners, to make a transparent analysis and to restoring confidence in our federation.
The second goal is to take care for the Olympic preparation of our national squat. We have a fantastic team and we are confident to win a medal in Tokyo.
New board
President: Martin Poiger
Vice Presidents: Gerald Eidenberger, Jochen Haidvogel, Ernst Raser, Hans Peter Zopf
Members: Silvia Ehrengruber, Martin Stump, Veronika Jakl, Sabrina Filzmoser, Andreas Weinzierl
Technical Director: Albert Gmeiner
Deputy Technical Director: Thomas Stückle
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen