During this week, more than 300 athletes from around the world will gather together on the tatami. It is an opportunity for these young judoka to diversify their workouts, under the supervision and expertise of experienced coaches.
Every morning, the judoka will enjoy technical training, which will be delivered by world and olympic medallists who will present their favourite techniques. Many randori sessions will be scheduled during the week as well. Sessions will be available for coaches to do their own work separately with their teams, enjoying the infrastructure at the centre. During the week, there will be a half-day for discovery and exploration; under a playful and cultural form, participants will discover the region and its traditions.
Fiesch is Located in the heart of Valais in Switzerland. This small mountain village situated at an altitude of 1,050m offers all the necessary conditions for high quality training. The UNESCO has designated this area in the Swiss Alps, a World Heritage site, for its outstanding beauty and Fiesch is right there, in its heart, with the training centre at the entrance to the village. It can accommodate nearly 1,000 athletes, where they can train, eat and sleep in optimal conditions. The whole facility extends over an area of approximately 20,000 m2.
Sergei Aschwanden, Olympic Medallist, President of the Swiss Judo Federation and Honorary President of SJC said, "This 8th edition is important. Step by step we have the feeling that we are going where we wanted to go. Taking care of the young generation, we are building the future of judo. In the past, we had the Abe siblings here for instance and now they are both Olympic champions and several times world champions.
It's e real adventure, where athletes from all over the world can experience diversity. Every year we welcome up to 30 different nations. They train together, live together and can share one week of their lives together. When in the same year as the Youth Olympic Games, we focus on preparation for the event, otherwise we focus on the cadet world championships. It's a great place for coaches from all over the world to share experience."
For Philippe Lain-Nau, the SJC President, "The goal is to gather together cadets and also junior athletes,coming from the five continents, in a magnificent place with high level coaches. This allows young judoka to meet, exchange and practise together. We want to bring together as many nations as possible in the spirit of mutual aid and prosperity, jita kyoei. Coaches also can meet and get to know one another in a formal and informal way.
The collaboration with the IJF is crucial. It gives us the possibility to have a global vision. We can invite big judo nations as well as developing countries, through the Olympic Solidarity support. The IJF brings us credibility and simply makes this training camp possible."
In 2023, the Sergei Judo Camp will be the place to be, to know more about the next generation of champions, and we will be there to tell you more about it.
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