“The euphoria for judo is palpable, the anticipation correspondingly great,” attests EJU Vice-President Hrvoje LINDI. In exactly one month, from 12 to 16 August, a long-awaited premiere will take place in SKOPJE (MKD). The North Macedonian Judo Federation is organising the first international event in its history, a Junior European Cup followed by a training camp. The first almost 100 entries have already been received from top nations such as France, Great Britain, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands and the USA. Sasho POPOVSKI himself, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of North Macedonia, showed Hrvoje Lindi and EJU President László TOTH around the Jane Sandanski Olympic Centre, the venue of the Junior European Cup. “The sports hall is top and meets all international standards. The event team around the federation president Vladimir TRPANOSKI answered all our questions in detail. The preparations are going according to plan. Skopje gets ready”, confirms Hrvoje Lindi.
László Tóth and Hrvoje Lindi had a number of working meetings during their three-day visit to North Macedonia. Among the high-ranking hosts were Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir BYTYQI, Government Secretary General Metodija DIMOVSKI, Interior Minister Oliver SPASOVSKI, Sports and Youth Agency Director Naumche MOJSOSKI and the already mentioned Sasho POPOVSKI.
The Junior European Cup in Skopje serves as a kick-off. “We have talked about a variety of projects. The government has recently launched an infrastructure offensive with 20 new sports halls. Our Judo in the School project will be offered in these new halls as soon as possible. For this, we are providing 300 children’s judogi and 800 square metres of judo mats are being funded by the National Olympic Committee,” Lindi said. “The Junior European Cup should not remain an isolated case.”
The most important topics that came up at the working meetings in North Macedonia:
- Skopje will apply to host a European Junior Championship in the next couple of years.
- The EJU will provide the national judo federation with 300 children’s judogi, and the National Olympic Committee will finance 800 square metres of judo mats.
- National coaches will be joining the international IJF Academy training and development programme.
- Skopje is bidding for the next summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival, judo will be a fixed part of the submitted sports programme.
- Further EJU education projects, such as Adaptive Judo, are to be introduced or sustainably established.
- The North Macedonian government recently launched an infrastructure offensive with 20 new sports halls. The EJU project “Judo in the School” will be offered in these new halls as soon as possible.
- Together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the training and promotion of top judoka is to be launched according to foreign models (as in AUT, CRO, FRA, GER, HUN, among others, where top judoka are accommodated in the police sports programme during their career and can enter the police service afterwards).
- The MKD-Government has expressed interest in hosting European Police Judo Championships in the coming years.
Author: EJU Media