With such a varied and time-pressured role, obeying calendars and meeting deadlines, there must be many challenges?
“I know it’s a world championship but we organise cups and opens regularly. Sometimes, on the same weekend, we have up to 7 events for different age categories, so maybe this event could feel less hard to manage. However, it’s the toughest and most prestigious event on the calendar for the cadets and so we owe it to them to do our best work. Working with the IJF to ensure we meet the minimum requirements for an event at this level is a key part of the job. We have to meet those requirements to bring the same standards as the IJF World Judo Tour. On day one there were many technical problems, for example but from then on it was smooth and as it should be."
"It is part of Peruvian culture to solve and move forward and keep ourselves balanced as we do so. Day one was very challenging for us, as organisers but we must keep a good attitude and a good face even in adversity. It’s important to be positive and to employ an attitude that allows us to be both calm and solution-driven. We say ‘Al mal tiempo, buena Cara;’ the literal translation is ‘good face in bad weather.’ We stuck to that principle.
For our athletes here in Peru, it is important to feel these events. To bring international athletes here is so good for them. We have a small budget but a team of 25 athletes competing at the world level event and we can even field a mixed team for the team event. This is because we are at home and it is a huge benefit. For them it’s really worth it! Also, for our staff to have the opportunity to be here, that has an impact. Some of our volunteers are junior or senior athletes from the Peruvian team and our federation officials are working in the area of education, our general secretary included, all to experience working at this level. At other events we have 10-12 people involved with two tatami, here we have more than 20. Now our Peruvian staff, volunteers and athletes feel part of the world judo family and not just the Peruvian judo family."
"We are motivated to keep staging events. Inside Peru we now have more people helping and the byproduct is more people doing judo; this is good for Peru, for Latin America and beyond."
"I began as a volunteer at the South American championships ten years ago. I loved it. I was part of a team welcoming delegations at the airport and at the welcome desks in the hotels. Sometimes I was at the door to the venue or distributing meal tickets. Then I learned the accreditation process and so on. This process is multiplying now for many people and it’s great to see.”
Staging a world championships is not a small task, no matter how many events have been organised before in a particular place, but Peru keeps moving forward, meeting every challenge with the right attitude to be able to solve all problems. As Kimberlie says, “Keep a good face, even in bad weather!”
