Florent Bron, a judo coach from Switzerland led a two-day judo workshop on 27th and 28th October. The Rwanda Judo Federation said, “Our esteemed guest is Florent Bron, hailing from Switzerland. He holds a 4th dan black belt and is a certified judo instructor from the IJF Academy, with a master's degree in sports and leisure management. Mr Bron also serves as the President and Technical Director of the Budokwai Pully Judo Club in Switzerland. Moreover, he coaches our talented judoka Léon Sala Rukundo during international competitions in which Rwanda participates.”
The workshop was held at the Silverback Judo Club in Kagugu-Kigali. The second day of the event coincided with World Judo Day celebrations at the newly inaugurated ‘Intare Judo Club’ within Fitnesspoint in Nyarutarama, Kigali. “Our young judoka invited their friends from school, while our federation extended the invitation to judoka from the Mahama refugee camp in the Kirehe District of the Eastern Province of Rwanda, a camp established in 2015.
We are thrilled to announce the opening of our brand-new judo dojo, Intare Judo Club, located in Nyarutarama-Kigali within the premises of Fitnesspoint gym. This accomplishment was made possible through the invaluable support of the International Judo Federation and a generous donation of judo equipment, including 1 surface of tatami and over 400 judogi, from our partners in Switzerland. We eagerly anticipate sharing our passion for judo with young individuals aged 5 to 25 and fostering the values of judo and sportsmanship.
During the two-day workshop, we were honoured to welcome almost 180 judoka aged 6 to 38, including many girls.”
Rwanda is making progress, growing its judo community, through international coaching support, IJF assistance and by capitalising on initiatives surrounding special events such as World Judo Day. Slowly but surely Rwanda is a country on the move.