Referee Edson Minakawa holds a lecture about the new rules for the National Team
The 33 athletes concentrated in São Paulo had the opportunity to have their questions answered by the IJF A Referee
The International Judo Federation confirmed some changes in the rules applied throughout the next three years. Among the more noticeable ones are the shorter time of the women’s fight (four minutes), greater control on leaving the contest area, the double weighing-in - everyone will weigh on the previous day but four athletes from each category will be drawn and must weigh again on the competition day. If their weight exceeds 5 % of the previous day’s weight, they will be eliminated - the sizes of kimonos, besides a readjustment made on the world ranking and punishments for doping.
“Another important point is that, in order to give more dynamism to the fight, the projection that, because of the speed, is not sure whether the opponent fell totally with their back on the floor or laterally with a small part of it, this will be considered ippon. This avoids having to look four or five times the slow motion replay to determine whether it was or not ippon. I believe it will be more interesting, \"said Edson Minakawa during his presentation.
All the 33 athletes invited to the concentration and the members of the coaching staff attended the presentation. They were able to make questions, especially those regarding the punishment for blows or lack of blows, since the meeting took place at the Judo Center of Excellence dojo from Ibirapuera Sports Complex.
\"We find important the contact with the referees because the changes will be effective during the Grand Slam from Paris, held on February 8th and 9th. But I believe that all countries will have the same problems. A one minute-decrease, meaning 20 % of the fighting time, changes totally the training strategy. This preparation week was important and I think we go to Paris well prepared,\" said Ney Wilson, the BJC’s Performance Director. The delegation that will represent Brazil in France leaves on February 4th.
For more details regarding the rules check the document below.
