The European Judo Union’s (EJU) Get Together Tour made it’s way to Swansea this weekend as over 100 adaptive judoka took to the mat in Wales which also incorporate the British Adaptive and Visually Impaired (VI) Championships.
Adaptive judo is specifically developed to encourage physical activity, inclusion, competitiveness and well being to the wider judo community who live with a complex range of abilities and disabilities. With Adaptive Judo growing throughout Europe and welcoming more countries and judoka to engage and participate in a competition environment that supports their abilities, it was an inspiring sight on the mat.
The event was hosted by the team at Welsh Judo Association in collaboration with Disability Sport Wales and was a resounding success, and was given a big thumbs up by EJU Medical Commissioner, Dr Zurab Kakhabrishvili.
“This is my first time at an adapted judo event, I am so happy that I can look at the athletes’ faces and see how happy they are before the competition, and after! Looking around, I can see that adapted judo isn’t just about the family, but the social factor it offers the athletes, you are giving them a chance, taking them away from the home, away from computers and providing this opportunity. It is a motivation and new life!”
“I want to say thank you to the EJU and the work for adapted judo that I have seen this week, every day there are big progressions in this sport, so thank you to our presidents, to Laszlo Toth and Marius Vizer. We like to stand by what we say, and we can really say that judo is more than sport.”
The EJU Get Together Tour was the first of its kind in the history of Welsh Judo, and was, as expected, a brilliant event in setting the tone for a series of events to come. The initiative is a fundamental part of our British Judo’s commitment to ensure the needs of members and those new to the sport with disabilities are met consistently across the organisation, and we look forward to future editions of the events.
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