Saturday, 23 November, the 76th Ordinary Congress of the European Judo Union is set to take place in Budapest, bringing together 140 delegates from 49 countries. A key highlight will be the anticipated re-election of EJU President László TOTH, reflecting his strong support. His proposed slate includes three vice presidents and a total of 20 Executive Committee members, featuring seven recent additions, promising a dynamic blend of experience and fresh perspectives for the future of the organization.
“We are deliberately enlarging the Executive Committee in order to have even more expertise in the team. It is also important to us that all the major nations are at the table. For the first time, we have two women in the role of Vice-Presidents. In short: the EJU is constantly evolving and that’s a good thing,” emphasises EJU President László Tóth.
The election proposal in detail:
President: László Tóth (HUN)
Vice-Presidents: Ivan Todorov (SRB/Marketing), Catarina Rodrigues (POR/Sport), Kristiina Pekkola (SWE/Education)
Development Directors: Giuseppe Matera (ITA), Moshe Ponte (ISR), Branislav Crnogorac (BIH)
Education Directors: Gévrise Emane (FRA), Teodor Adrian Pop (GER), Ronnie Saez (GBR)
Marketing Directors: Oleksandr Nagibin (UKR), Jacek Zawadka (POL)
Head Refereeing Director: Alexandr Jatskevitch (LAT)
Referee Education Director: Juan Carlos Barcos Nagore (ESP)
Head Sports Director: Urska Zolnir Jugovar (SLO)
Sport Directors: Sezer Huysuz (TUR), David Kevkishvili (GEO), Agron Kuka (KOS)
General Treasurer: Envic Galea (MLT)
General Secretary: Martin Poiger (AUT)
Facts and figures about the new Executive Committee:
- Gender parity: For the first time, there are two female Vice Presidents in office, Kristiina Pekkola (SWE) and Catarina Rodrigues (POR).
- Even more judo expertise: Seven new members (Gévrise Emane/FRA, Juan Carlos Barcos Nagore/ESP, Branislav Crnogorac/BIH, David Kevkhishvili/GEO, Giuseppe Matera/ITA, Teodor Adrian Pop/GER, Ivan Todorov/SRB) will be elected to the Executive Committee.
- Quality & quantity: The major European judo nations such as Germany, France, Georgia, Italy and Spain will be all represented on the Executive Committee as a result of the increase. Together, the ‘big five’ represent more than one million judoka. The EJU Executive Committee comprises a total of 20 people instead of the previous 15).
- Highly decorated: Branislav Crnogorac/BIH holds the ninth dan, Juan Carlos Barcus/ESP, Envic Galea/MLT, Alexandr Jatskevitch/LAT, Oleksandr Nagibin/UKR and László Tóth/HUN hold the 8th dan.
- Olympic experience: No fewer than nine Executive Committee members have competed at the Olympic Games (Emane, Huysuz, Jatskevitch, Kevkhishvili, Ponte, Todorov, Zolnir Jugovar), Urska Zolnir Jugovar/SLO/-63 won gold in 2012, Gévrise Emane/FRA/-70 won bronze in London, Alexandr Jatskevitch/LAT finished third in Moscow 1980.
Author: EJU Media