Until then, we can expect great judo, beautiful judo, and it will begin this weekend at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, where the 2024 World Judo Championships took place just a few months ago.
The draw took place today in the venue that will host judoka from all over the world for the next three days.
Representing the IJF were Mr Vlad Marinescu, Director General, Mr Florin Daniel Lascau and Mr Jeon Ki-Young, Head Referee Directors. The UAE Judo Federation was represented by Mr Mohamed Jasim and Mr Ahmed Alboushi, UAE Judo Federation board members, and Mr Sultan Alkitbe, UAE Judo Federation Events Director.
Mr Marinescu declared, "Dear board members of UAE Judo, dear Events Director, dear judo family, ladies and gentlemen, first of all it's a great honour for the International Judo Federation to come again to the beautiful city of Abu Dhabi following a fantastic world championships here earlier this year.
This marks the 15th edition of the judo grand slam, which started in 2009. I'd like to take this moment to thank, on behalf of the IJF President Mr Marius Vizer, President of UAE Judo Mr Mohammed Thaaloob, as well as UAE Judo Secretary General, Mr Naser Al Tamimi, for their investment, energy, time and passion growing and developing judo into the fantastic sport it is today.
We would also like to send our thanks to the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the sport authority of UAE, as well as to Abu Dhabi Sports TV, to all our sponsors and partners.
Following a fantastic Olympic Games in Paris, it's great to come back to Abu Dhabi with the first grand slam of the World Judo Tour. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish a great show at home to all the judo fans watching on JudoTV as well as all TV around the world. I wish the athletes the best event possible, good luck, and to maintain the values and the discipline which are instilled in judo, to show the world our beautiful sport. Thank you very much."
Mr Mohamed Jasim declared, "First of all, on behalf of the chairman of UAE Judo and of the board members of our federation, I am pleased to welcome the judo family from different countries to the UAE, which has become a major station for judo lovers and fans to meet at this time every year.
Abu Dhabi hosted the world championships for the first time in history, last May. This championships which was the last before the Olympic Games Paris 2024, was an exceptional success with the participation of more than 800 men and women. As we are about to host the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, we extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to HH Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, for his continuous support and sponsorship of this event. We also extend our thanks to the International Judo Federation for having great confidence in the UAE organisation. We also thank the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the media and institutions that have been supporting the grand slam since it was launched in 2009.
To conclude we thank all those who are attending the Grand Slam Abu Dhabi 2024 and we hope you will enjoy the event. Good luck everyone!"
After Mr Jeon Ki-Young presented the referee team, Mr Florin Daniel Lascau conducted the technical aspects of the draw.
The competition will be held over the next three days. On day 1 and 2, the preliminaries will begin at 11:00 and on day 3 at 11:30, the final block taking place every day at 17:00 at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi. You can follow the event live at https://judotv.com/ and on all the IJF communication platforms and social media.