Update On The World Judo Tour

One of the top competitions in all of judo is the World Judo Championships. To get there, however, you must go through the Judo World Tour. With uncertainty regarding the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, how will the games be affected?

Marius Vizer, President of the International Judo Federation, discussed plans to bring judo competition back and better than ever. With countries reopening in phases and seeing low COVID-19 numbers, the ideal goal would be to have the tour in September.

“Currently, the International Judo Federation is in discussions with Organizing Committees for rescheduling World Judo Tour events,” Vizer stated in a release. “We plan to schedule suspended events, where possible, according to geographical accessibility, equality, promoting fair participation chances for all those taking part in the Olympic Games Qualification. Our objective is to restart the World Judo Tour as soon as it becomes safe and fair to do so.”

As a result of the pandemic, multiple judo events have been nixed. The Judo Grand Prix in Morocco was canceled, and the IJF suspended all competition, including the Olympic qualifying bouts. Olympic qualifying bouts were extended from May 25 to June 30. Due to the postponement of the 2020 Olympics, the IJF announced that the Throw to Tokyo event would also be postponed.

It is unknown when Grand Prix’s will begin again or how exactly the IJF will craft a safe environment for athletes. As of now, sumo, boxing, and MMA have been complying with its commissions and have created ways to adhere to health and safety guidelines.

The Judo World Championships are scheduled to take place in 2021 from September 12-19.