“I am proud to welcome no fewer than 109 representatives from 48 countries as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations. I see this number as a vote of confidence in the Executive Committee and our work over the last 12 months,” said EJU President László TOTH at the start of the one-day congress in Belgrade on Friday. “We have achieved a great deal together and have even more planned for next year. A total of 107 EJU events were staged in 2023, and we expect 125 EJU events in 2024.”
“We are working hand in hand, looking forward to the Olympic Games together. JudoTV.com has established itself very well in Europe. Almost 15 million views and 467,000 hours of live streaming at EJU events alone speak for themselves,” said IJF Director General Vlad MARINESCU, full of anticipation. “Our most important goal must be to make judo even more attractive for sponsors and fans,” noted Senior Vice President Otto Kneitinger.
15 Cadet European Cups, 15 Junior Cups, 10 Olympic Training Camps and 7 Senior Cups are currently planned for 2024. The EJU Prime Event of the year is the European Championships Seniors in Zagreb (CRO, 25 – 28 April). Other European Championships: Veterans: Sarajevo (BIH, 6 – 9 June), Cadets: Samokov (BUL, 27 – 30 June), Juniors: Tallinn (EST, 5 – 8 September), Small States: Cyprus – details not yet finalised (2/3 November), Under-23: Pila (POL, 15 – 17 November).
A new addition to the EJU portfolio is the European Hopes Cup Under-15 in conjunction with Kodokan Technical Seminars. 7 stops are planned: BIH, CZE, HUN, LAT, POL, SLO, TUR. EJU Vice-President Hrvoje LINDI: “Our aim is to work together with the IJF Academy and the Kodokan Institute to introduce and train young people in the 100 judo techniques in the best possible way. We believe this is an important step.”
Further highlights outside the EJU tour with a European connection: Grand Prix events in POR, Linz/AUT and Zagreb/CRO, Grand Slams in Paris/FRA, Tbilisi/GEO, Antalya/TUR and Baku/AZE and, as the absolute highlight, the Olympic Games in Paris (FRA).
In the education sector, the Adaptive Judo – Get Together Tour will be introduced in 2024. “The premiere event in Venray was a complete success. We are looking forward to seven competitions in the best sense of inclusion,” emphasised Vice President Sergei Aschwanden.
Author: EJU Media