The first Improve your Club Seminar brought an effective start in Elblag, Poland, with over 700 attendants from 10 different countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine. The seminar was led by EJU expert, Mr. Hiroshi Katanishi at the Sport-Business Center.
Slawomir Kownacki, CEO of Polish Judo Association expressed his thoughts of the seminar: “This was the fifth camp we hosted. There is a fantastic initiative from our colleagues in Elblag. For four days, Elblag becomes the capital of polish judo. Hundreds of contestants and trainers have started their new year here and are preparing for upcoming events.”
Aneta Szczepanska, silver medalist of the 1966 Atlanta Olympic Games also shared her views: “For this year’s camp I arrived as a trainer of the polish women national team. In Elblag, we are starting our preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games. Here we have excellent conditions for trainings. We are here to watch each other and get to know new fighting techniques and new ways of trainings. Every participant will learn new techniques, ways of fighting and will use it for his or her self-development. It is a wonderful time for both, participants and coaches.”
As revealed, the seminar did not only offer learning opportunities for coaches but for athletes too. Trainings for contestants were led by Evgeny Lvov from Russia. “There was a great atmosphere during the Judo camp in Elblag, contestants and trainers are very devoted to training”, said Lvov.
The organizer of the camp, Roman Gdula conclude the exceptional experience of the weekend: “This is already the fifth time we are able to host this camp as we managed to create conditions for training, learning new techniques and taking training fights (randori) with supervision of excellent trainers. Cadets as well as juniors from different countries are participating in our camp and we are pleased that many of them returned to us for the fifth time. This confirms that Elblag camp is excellent place for youngest judo contestants for judo training and improving their skills.”
The next Improve your Club Seminar will take place o the 13-14 February in Bergamo, Italy.