A press conference was held earlier today at the Odivelas Multipurpose Pavilion ahead of the European Judo Cadet Championships 2023. Amongst distinguished guests, Sports Councillor of the Municipality of Odivelas, Francisco BAPTISTA; Head Sport Director of the European Judo Union, Catarina RODRIGUES, Sport Director of the European Judo Union, Mrs Urska ZOLNIR JUGOVAR; President of the Portuguese Judo Federation, Sérgio PINA, National Coaches of the Cadet Portuguese Judo Team, António SARAIVA and Joana RAMOS were all at present.
The Sports Councillor of the Municipality of Odivelas, Mr. Baptista began the conference by the following;
It is always a privilege for the Municipality of Odivelas to receive international competitions, especially when it comes to young age groups. Judo is, once again, the meeting point between the vision we have adopted for the city and the implementation, in practical terms, of sports policy and investment in sport in recent years.
On behalf of the European Judo Union, both Head Sport Director, Ms Rodrigues and Sports Director, Mrs Zolnir Jugovar welcomed everyone in the city of Odivelas;
CR: The first word that comes to mind is finally (we are back in Odivelas). This is one of the great houses of judo and the last major event that took place here was in December 2019, the Champions League, with a good memory for Portugal, with Sporting CP becoming European Club Champion and I hope that this will be a good presage for the Athletes who will fight here between Thursday and Sunday.
UZ: Welcome to Odivelas, stage of the 2023 European Cadet Championship. From the beginning, it was clear that this competition was going to be very well prepared and organized. We expect good fights from our young athletes, but more importantly, that all judokas around the world continue to spread the values of judo.
The President of the Portuguese Judo Federation, Mr Pina addressed the audience further;
We are back in Odivelas, where we are headquartered, with yet another competition of the highest quality, from a sporting and organizational point of view. I wish all athletes the greatest sporting success, with the certainty that everything will run smoothly.
Portuguese national coaches for cadets, Mr Saraiva and Ms Ramos were both expressing their delight having this tournament held on home grounds;
AS: The Portuguese Judo Federation has made an effort so that these Athletes participate in training camps and international competitions, without which it is more difficult to evolve. The results will depend on several factors, but we are playing at home and anything can happen.
JR: Our team was well thought out and prepared for this competition, despite it not being the end of the season. Since the national qualifying championship for cadet team, we have been doing very specific and intense preparation. We did 5 International Training Camps plus 1 of preparation. These Athletes made 5 European Cups this year. This is the best prepared team we have.
Apart from officials, three national team member of the Portugese cadet judo team also addressed their emotions ahead of the event.
Tiago Coutinho: I started to have good results very recently. It’s all been very fast, but I’ve been feeling better prepared for the competition. The training camps we did were quite beneficial. I want to come into the competition as strong as possible.
Rodrigo Janeiro: I feel good, even though I still haven’t achieved the results I was hoping for in the European Cups. I work to overcome myself and I know that, with what I’ve been working on, it’s a matter of time before I reach the highest places on the podium.
Maria Silveira: I feel pretty confident. I’m happy to have such event at home. I hope to have a lot of support from the stands and that everything goes well.
Welcome to Odivelas!
Judoka
Author: Szandra Szogedi