The IJF and IBSA Judo signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on the occasion of the Budapest Grand Prix in 2014 to develop the
professionalism and integration of visually impaired judo.
Mr. Marius Vizer, IJF President, and Mr. Nobert Biro, IBSA
Judo Committee Chairman, who signed that MoU in 2014 were together again on
Thursday at the IJF Presidential Office along with Mr. Janos Tardos, IBSA Judo Sports Director to
reflect on Rio 2016 and talk about the next steps for visually impaired judo.
While judo break participation, flagbearer and medal records
at the Rio 2016 Olympics, the sport, which is the only martial art in the
Paralympics, also stood out at South America’s first Paralympics. Judo debuted
at the Seoul 1988 Paralympics (with women’s VI judo added at Athens 2004) and
in 2016 saw 129 judoka compete from 36 countries at the Paralympics with
exactly half of the countries winning a medal.
Mr. Marius Vizer welcomed Mr. Nobert Biro, IBSA Judo Committee Chairman, and Mr. Janos Tardos, IBSA Judo Sports Director to the IJF President Office on Thursday
Speaking about the achievements in Rio, Mr. Tardos thanked
the Mr. Vizer for the IJF’s support during the Paralympic cycle and for the
organisation of the technical aspects in Rio.
“Thank you providing us the possibility to meet you and
discuss about the future collaboration between IJF and IBSA judo,” he said.
“First of all we would like to thank you for the support
received from IJF. It was really important for the prestige of VI judo.“
Confident in the notion that “judo is more than a sport”,
President Vizer assured the IBSA representatives that the IJF will continue to
support VI judo and is committed to showcasing judo’s moral values and lead the
development of judo.
Mr. Vizer announced that the IJF will continue support IBSA
Judo, including technical support and assistance with judo projects, leading to
a successful Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The strategy is for a long-term collaboration as the IJF will assist the
qualification system for Tokyo, starting in 2017 as IBSA Judo introduce more
events at the continental and world level.
The selection of the referees and the sports organisation
will be, also in the future, upheld by IJF by offering specialists in each
field. The IJF looks forward to a continued rich collaboration with IBSA Judo
for the global development of judo and visually impaired judo.