Like Tina Trstenjak, Nuša Lampe is from Slovenia. After her sports career, she became involved in refereeing and also in coaching and teaching judo. Here in Uzbekistan, on the occasion of the Tashkent Grand Slam 2023, she officiates behind the scenes, controlling the judogi. We asked her to share her experience of women's judo, as she herself says of judo that it is more than just learning combat techniques. She says it is a comprehensive and wonderful system of physical, intellectual and moral education. It has its own culture, system, legacy and tradition. It teaches judoka principles of ethics and a way of life.

"I don't see any difference between men and women in judo, because I believe that judo is giving us something very special: equality and equity. On and off the tatami, behind the scenes, everywhere in our lives, we learn that we are equal, in judo.

No matter if you are an athlete, a referee, a technical official, the president of a club or federation, an executive board member of the International Judo Federation and of course ‘just’ a judoka, we are equally treated. As women, we feel accepted by everyone and I cherish that.

Having said that, yes, sport has been a man’s world and there are always issues but after more than 40 years in judo, I can say that in our sport, those issues are rather small. We can find solutions for all of them.

To girls who want to start judo, I have only one thing to say: come on, get in, just dig in! Judo is not just a sport and once you start, you can go all the way. You can even get job opportunities, build a career as an athlete, as a coach or a referee."

To paraphrase a celebrated slogan, as Nusa says, ‘Just do it!’

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