The draw is the first major moment for every tournament and in Linz, it’s no different. Present on behalf of the IJF were IJF Secretary General Dr Lisa Allan, IJF Head Sport Director Mr Vladimir Barta and IJF Head Referee Director Mr Florin Daniel Lascau. Present on behalf of the Austrian Judo Federation were federation President Dr Martin Poiger, federation General Secretary Ms Corina Korner and Upper Austrian region Sport Director Mr Gerhard Rumetshofer.
Dr Lisa Allan began, “We are honoured to be here with the Austrian Judo Federation President Dr Martin Poiger and Secretary General Ms Corina Korner and Sport Director of the Upper Austria region Mr Gerhard Rumetshofer. On behalf of our president, Mr Marius Vizer, and the International Judo Federation, we extend a heartfelt welcome to Upper Austria and the beautiful city of Linz for the first grand prix of 2025."
"We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to Dr Poiger and his team, for their hard work and commitment ensuring that this event is not only a celebration of our sport but also a platform for the continued growth of judo worldwide as we see many new athletes join the familiar faces of those experienced judoka that we know well and who have given us many moments of emotion as we watched them on the tatami.
This event brings together participants from all corners of the globe, as we gather to witness the athletes compete in front of a passionate and dedicated judo family in the Tips Arena or joining us online.
A special thank you goes out to all our member national federations and sponsors for their continued and invaluable support. Their contribution is vital to the success of this event and to the continued development of judo on a global scale."
"Let us all embrace these exciting next three days, which promise to deliver an exceptional display of world-class judo, inspire future champions and remind us of the enduring values of respect, excellence and friendship that define our sport.”
Austrian Judo Federation President Dr Martin Poiger continued, “Dear Secretary General, dear Mr Barta and Mr Lascau, dear ladies and gentlemen, we meet in Linz in demanding geo-political times. As Mr Vizer stresses often, judo is here for unity and solidarity and so I would like to thank the 52 national federations for making the journey here. I would like to thank our team for their incredible hard work, including Ms Corina Korner and our team of 150 volunteers. Thanks also to the region of upper Austria for their partnership and additional funding. We are very grateful to the Ministry of Sport and all our sponsors. I wish all participants all the best here in Linz and also for the coming year.”
Upper Austria’s Sport Director Mr Gerhard Rumetshofer responded by saying, “Dear Dr Allan, Dr Poiger, ladies and gentlemen, judo in Linz enjoyed its premier in the spring of 2023 and since then hundreds of volunteers and our organisers have shown we can organise events at the highest level. Now we are in round 3 of the Upper Austria Grand Prix, providing the perfect stage for many exciting fights. We are proud to have all these 400 athletes here.”
Mr Florin Daniel Lascau then mentioned the selection of referees, noting that they are a truly global group, ensuring high quality, transparent refereeing, before Mr Vladimir Barta opened the draw itself with the IJF IT supporting. “Distinguished guests and colleagues, thank you to the Austrian federation for all their hard work. Congratulations again for the Olympic medal of Michaela Polleres, it is always something special to win a medal like this.
Today, we would like to deliver some important information about the Budapest World Championships 2025. The final IJF World Ranking List, to show the top 100 in each category to qualify for the 2025 World Championships, will be known after the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam, on Monday 12th May. This is the list that will be used for our main event in Budapest.
Now we are ready to begin the draw for the 2025 Upper Austria Grand Prix.”
Once all the draw sheets were ready to be included on JudoTV, everyone involved in judo around the world, could get to work preparing for the first contests of day 1, beginning at 10am local time on Friday 7th March. Follow all the live rounds, the statistics and video replays via JudoTV.com.