Rudi VERHAGEN began judo at age of seven, a sport he grew to love deeply. After his brother Herman was diagnosed with brain cancer in the early 1990s and passed away eight months later, Rudi was inspired by Kano’s philosophy that “judo is for everybody” to create opportunities for inclusion in the sport. In 1998, he founded the Nihon Dutch Open Shenshu, an adapted judo tournament that started with 80 participants from two countries. By 2022, the event had grown to include 220 entries from 13 countries.
A year ago, in cooperation with the European Judo Union, the first ever EJU Get Together took place in the city of Venray with 300 participants from 25 nations. In addition, five other countries travelled to Venray in 2023 to observe the implementation of adapted judo in their respective locations. Today, Rudi played a pivotal role as head of the local organising committee for the historic Open European Judo Championships Intellectual Impairment Venray 2024. With this history of dedication behind him, the EJU awarded him for his commitment to the development of education in 2023. An award that left him speechless;
I almost cried. I am an emotional guy and it means a lot to me. This is the true recognition of all the hard work that went into building last year’s and this year’s events. I am truly honoured, my heart beats rapidly I cant put it in words but I just want to say I am extremely grateful.
Author: Szandra Szogedi