The weekend was busy as dozens of coaches and referees from all over the world gathered together in Gyor, Hungary, on the occasion of the IJF refereeing and coaching seminar, organised in co-operation with the European Judo Union. On Sunday, IJF President, Mr Marius Vizer, was the guest of honour and delivered an important message to all the participants. He was accompanied by Dr Lisa Allan, IJF Secretary General, and Laszlo Toth, European Judo Union President.

"It is very nice to see you all here. I wish you a happy new year, filled with health, great success, numerous achievements, outstanding results and all the best for your families.

We are entering a new and complicated year due to the international situation. However, it is crucial that our judo family remains united, fostering friendship, peace and collaboration. We rise above political intrigues and conflicts; we are a sport community committed to our values and principles. I wish you all success for the seminar and the very best in all your endeavors. I am looking forward to seeing you soon on the World Judo Tour 2024."

Mr Vizer added, "Based on what I have seen today and what I saw in the last period during competitions and as a former coach, I believe that we have to increase education. We all need to know the judo methods, techniques, rules and principles. We have to increase the co-operation at club and national team level between the coaches, taking into consideration the education part and the refereeing.

Our referees need to be active at club level, teaching and organising seminars in the best clubs and in all countries. They must take part in the training camps of the national teams to teach the rules. After the Olympics, we will increase collaboration within the sport at all levels, for education and the refereeing sector. This unity is key to the success of judo and the key to help all of us to make judo more clear and more understandable. The key is knowledge and collaboration.

Thank you very much, congratulations to all of you. I hope to see good judo in the next competitions and no injuries, to see each other always in good shape, in good spirits, respecting the judo principles of friendship and unity.

Then the work to keep harmonising the refereeing and coaching aspects of judo continued, based on a thorough analysis of concrete situations using video analysis.

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