New Rules Come into Force at English Open

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British Judo will introduce their version of the new contest rules starting with the English Open on 9th March.

The National Refereeing Commission submitted recommendations for the implementation of the IJF standards, which were unanimously approved by the Technical Panel. The board then approved the following recommendations at a board meeting on 18th February 2014.

Effective from the English Open on Sunday 9th March the following are to be implemented for use in the UK:

  • All new IJF interpretations of negativity, scoring and safety area activity are to be adopted in full. Full details of these interpretations along with videos to highlight each element can be found at https://bja.platform81.com/british-judo-implementation-of-2014-ijf-rules
  • The duration of senior female contests is to be set at four minutes

New rules relating to the specifications of Judogi will not be implemented from the English Open but will instead be implemented from the British Championships in December 2014:

  • New sizing rules relating to the specifications of Judogi will be implemented for cadet, junior and senior tournaments. British Judo will only implement rules around sizing, not manufacturer, weave etc.
  • All tournaments at pre-cadet level or below will remain as per 2013 rules for judogi

The association has chosen not to adopt the IJF’s new rules around 30 second player calling and weight control due to the potential for a negative impact on judoka in the UK.

A additional contest rules update will be hosted by the National Refereeing Commission Chairman (Keith Merrick) at iceSheffield on Friday 7th March ahead of the English Open on Sunday 9th March. The session is open to all referees, officials and coaches participating at the event and will take place between 18:00-20:00 on the Tatami.

Due to the date of implementation, those competing in the British Schools Championship at iceSheffield on Saturday 8th March are not affected.

To view more details on the changes along with video guides please visit https://bja.platform81.com/british-judo-implementation-of-2014-ijf-rules

The contest rule book will be updated in due course.