International Judo Federation

The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951.[1] The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina.[2] Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.[3]

International Judo Federation
CategorySports federation
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationIJF
Founded1951 (1951)
HeadquartersBudapest, Hungary
PresidentMarius Vizer
Official website
www.ijf.org

History

Since 2009, IJF has organized yearly World Championships and the World Judo Tour consisting of five Grand Prix, four Grand Slams, a master tournament, and a Continental open tournament.[4]

The IJF initially named Russian President Vladimir Putin its honorary president and IJF Ambassador in 2008.[5] That status was temporarily suspended in 2022, in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5][6]

The IJF also cancelled all competitions in Russia, but allowed their athletes to compete as neutrals in individual and team competitions.[7][8]

IJF President Marius Vizer, a long-time close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted to let Russians and Belarusians continue to compete as neutral athletes despite the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Ukrainian pressure to suspend them entirely.[8] Ultimately, both national federations withdrew on their own accord, until June 2022 when they returned.[8] Ukraine boycotted IJF events beginning in June 2022 because the Russian team was allowed to compete in and entered competitions. Judo is one of the few Olympic sports which goes against the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.[9]

Events

Presidents of the IJF

References
  1. Ohlenkamp, Neil (2006). Black Belt Judo - Neil Ohlenkamp - Google Books. ISBN 9781845371098.
  2. "History". www.insidethegames.biz.
  3. Thomas, Luke (March 8, 2015). "What is judo's problem with mixed martial arts?". MMA Fighting.
  4. "Timeline". International Judo Federation. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  5. "International Judo Federation Suspends Putin as Honorary President". RFI. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  6. "Official Announcement of the International Judo Federation". International Judo Federation. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  7. "Citing safety concerns, Russia withdraws all judo athletes from international competition". infobae.
  8. "Most Olympic federations suspend Russian athletes, but officials go free". www.playthegame.org.
  9. "Ukraine boycotts Olympic judo qualifier as Russians compete". 25 June 2022.
  10. "International Judo Federation Executive Committee". International Judo Federation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.