It has been almost two years since the cadet athletes have found themselves in a training camp setting. We last saw participation in Fuengirola, Spain (17th-19th February) and Antalya, Turkey (2nd-4th March) in 2020 before the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic was realised.
So now it is with great joy that the youngest of the 2020 cadets and new athletes of this age are welcomed back to EJU international camps.
Sports Director of the Royal Spanish Judo Federation, Sara ALVAREZ explained how this is benefitting the younger athletes.
These kind of training camps are very important for the younger athletes, even more important than the competition events. For many of them, everything was based on competition, and they only had the opportunity to fight once last weekend. In this international training camp they can get the experience that they didn’t have in the past two years.
Of course there are difficulties and strains financially when accommodating minors in a high quality hotel with such facilities but Sara states that after seeing how much the athletes are enjoying these intense days of judo, she feels absolutely sure that it is worth it.
There are safety protocols like in the IJF and EJU competitions, athletes and coaches have had to test negative at least twice with PCR tests to enter the bubble. There is always a risk but this is much safer than going to school or using public transport so parents can sleep easy. Organising this with minors in a hotel with this quality
Following the Fox Fly Film Cadet European Judo Tour – Fuengirola Cadet European Cup 2022 over the weekend, 123 athletes have remained for the training camp.
Author: Thea Cowen