The year was opened with a refereeing Seminar, which included referees, coaches and leaders from 24 countries. On 18 January, they all gathered in the auditorium of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee in Caracas under the auspices of the President of the Federation of Venezuela, Katiuska Santaella, accompanied by the Refereeing Director, Omar Hill, and the Secretary General, Germán Contreras. The three presented the new rules for the Olympic cycle before Tokyo 2020.
"This seminar will allow us to disseminate information throughout the country. I am very proud to see you all here," said Katiuska Santaella. "What we want is to improve Judo in the country, despite the crisis we all experience. It's in worse moments that Judo gets the best results and I'm sure that we will continue in this way because each of us will progress. That's why we're here to help each other and improve ourselves", she continued.
The Seminar was organized in the framework of the programme led by the International Judo Federation in Mittersill, Austria, early in January, in which 145 examples were presented in order to properly apply the rules that are in force up to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
VENEZUELAN JUDO IS CLEARLY IMPROVING
Today, Venezuelan Judo is experiencing a milestone in terms of results, especially marked by the gold medals of María Gabriela Giménez and Carlos Páez at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires last year, as well as the many medals won at the Pan American Championships, Panamerican Cups, Central American and Caribbean Games and South American Games. The excellent training of judoka, children, juniors and seniors, was essential to achieve such results and the federation also owe this to the support received from the International Judo Federation. A help that has allowed Venezuelan Judo to be present at most international events including the World Judo Tour.
"Judo in Venezuela is constantly improving in all aspects. Whether at the level of leaders, coaches, referees and of course judokas. Seminars like the one for referees will have an immediate impact on the quality of our own people. This is crucial to raise the level and the quality of the Judo in our country ", declared the Technical Coordinator of the Kilmar Campos Federation.
All of this is part of a global strategy with a focus on the excellence of Venezuelan judo. As such the agreement signed between the International Federation, the Federation of Venezuela, the Venezuelan Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee for the support and development of 20 dojos and the donation of tatami and judogis will increase the number of judoka, especially among the children, in the country.
Today, the number of judoka in Venezuela is estimated to be around 1700, distributed as follows:
ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY MARKS THE BEGINNING OF 2019
In the long term the objectives are already defined. In the short term it is first of all about consolidating a team among the world elite that qualifies judokas for Tokyo 2020.
In Venezuela Judo is very popular, especially in the regions of Bolívar, Carabobo, Lara, Barinas and Apure. Most of those who practice Judo are low-income people. Hence the importance of setting up a programme of assistance through tatami and judogis so that children can develop in good conditions to practice judo.
It was therefore the President who concluded the event with words that explain the revival of Judo in Venezuela: "Since the beginning of our mandate, the International Federation has supported us in a total and unbelievable way so that Judo here can develop and grow. Judo is a beautiful sport. We believe that practicing our discipline in a massive way will have a positive impact in our country because Judo is synonymous with integrity, discipline, honesty, strong moral values, respect, friendship and effort. In other words, the people who practice Judo contribute to the creation of an advanced and prosperous society."
A simple message, direct, strong. Like Judo.