"To host the first Upper Austria Grand Prix is an honour. We had a great collaboration with the IJF and the Upper Austria region and everything is now falling into place. Thanks to that support, we could finalise the budget, which was important. We even had the request to sign a multi-year contract, which is even better.
We are going to offer nice facilities to all the delegations. We are really looking forward to welcoming you all in Austria, in a region that is especially well known for its hospitality and profound Austrian culture, which we want to share with as many people as possible.
For all the nations that will come to Austria, they will be able to experience our way of welcoming people. I am sure we are going to have a great tournament. We already have a good number of athletes registered.
Hosting this event is part of our development strategy which is based on three pillars: 1. Win Olympic and world medals; 2. Raise the membership; 3. Raise the media value of judo in Austria.
With the team that we have now, under the leadership of our head coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch, we see more and more athletes performing. So far we had a really good world event, with our best results since 2005. Concerning the membership, our goal is to go from 12,000 to 20,000 members. We are on the way and for the media value, the Upper Austria Grand Prix will definitely be a big help and a big step forward.
Our idea is to generate income for the development of judo in Austria. Having more visibility through the grand prix will make a big difference.
I really think that we are going in the right direction. We have the right people in the right places. In Linz, we will have more than 200 volunteers from Upper Austria, helping and organising. The local federation did a lot to make sure that everything will be in place on day one of the event.
From a sport point of view, we will use the event as a springboard for our young judoka. We can have up to 4 athletes per weight division, as the host nation. Some of our young athletes will discover the international circuit for the first time.
We can clearly say now that we are a strong team in Austria, in all sectors, and this is only the beginning."
The Austrian Judo Federation has been capitalising on their past experiences and now they are ready for the future.