The journey for Cyprus to host the European Judo Championships of the Small States 2024 has been a roller coaster, one they would eagerly take on again if given the opportunity. Mr. Sotos TRIKOMITIS, the President of the National Judo Federation of Cyprus, reflected on the process that led to this weekend’s significant event. It all started with a simple yet life-changing phone call that set everything in motion.
So one day our Technical Director, Mr. Christodoulides CHRISTODOULOS, called me and he asked me if we are interested in organising the Small States Europeans. I proposed we meet and speak to see if we can do it or not. We have met and we discussed all the element of organising such an event and we came to the conclusion that we can do it, let’s go for it. This moment offered our country a higher level of competition, our athletes can feel more relax in their own country and also they will increase their physiological strength competing and succeeding on home soil. We are really happy to have come to the decision in organising this event.
From the initial enthusiasm, the journey quickly became a whirlwind of challenges and victories. Coordinating such a prestigious event meant balancing logistics, finding the perfect venue, ensuring financial backing, and motivating countless volunteers and athletes. Every hurdle came with its own unique set of trials, from navigating bureaucratic hurdles to meeting international standards for hosting.
Thought, it was difficult to organise such on event we are still happy to have gone for it. The most difficult challenges came from economical factors. Unfortunately, we did not overcome that. Despite that we had some support from the National Sports Organisations of Cyprus, we still faced difficulties. Nevertheless, now that we showed that we can do it, we trust the support will elevate nationally. On the bright side we had a lot of support from our judoka, their parents, families and most importantly our Technical Director, Christodoulides, he worked so hard, one cannot imagine. I am grateful and more so extremely proud of him and his work.
The tournament was exciting, we had good fights and a fantastic competition. I am very satisfied with the our team and how they handled themselves. We also had a lot of spectators. I am proud to be the president of such a team. Finally, I must express my sincere appreciation to Dr TOTH Laszlo, EJU President and the whole of the EJU team, every single member was fully supportive. We are very grateful. It was our first time organising such an event but I believe all the countries had enjoyed our hospitality in my beautiful country, Cyprus.
Images: Emanuele DI FELICIANTONIO
Author: Szandra Szogedi