The Malta Judo Federation has just wrapped up the organisation of what might be described as the greatest single sport activity to be organised in Malta. 697 delegates from 43 European countries flocked to our islands to participate in the European Championships U-17 over three days.
The Russians went back with the biggest haul of medals, and Croatia won their first European Gold medal. All the technical people said that the future of Judo is secure after they saw the great sporting performance of the 15 and 16 year-old judokas.
Most of the EJU executive committee, headed by the President Mr Marius Vizer, were present for the occasion and they commented that the sports hall is ideal for such an event and the atmosphere created during the championships was very good.
The short but dynamic opening ceremony was enlivened by the young members of the clubs of the Malta Judo Federation, who marched in with the 43 placards representing the participating countries to band music which was adapted to modern pop tunes and gave the event a typical Maltese character. The President of the European Judo Union, Mr Vizer, awarded the Gold Medal of the EJU to the Ministry for Sport for their support to the MJF, to H.E. Andrew Bertie for his work for Judo and his support of the Malta Judo Foundation and finally to Mr Envic Galea for his work in the executive of the EJU over the past 16 years. He then declared the championships officially open. Olivia Lewis sang the Maltese national anthem and the Judo Kids, rushed in with a huge Maltese flag.
To complement the medal ceremony, which was assisted by the Sea Cadets, the MJF awarded an Olive Wreath to the medallists to remind them of the Olympic Spirit. At the original Olympics, more than 2,500 years ago, an olive wreath was the sole tangible reward offered to champion runners and wrestlers. These championships are the first steps to the Olympic Games and many medallists in these championships will hopefully continue to win an Olympic medal.
After all the sports events were over, it was time for a Sedqa non-alcoholic beach farewell gathering, which was held on the new Perched Beach in Qawra.
However, that was not the end for the MJF event organisers. It was then time for the Organisation, Administration and Education Seminars. The Medical Seminar was already held at the Sport Complex, where the plans for 2008 and WADA rules had been discussed. At the Organisation Seminar, the focus was on making Judo points simpler and on how organisers of EJU events should take all necessary precautions to ensure proper TV coverage. After the seminar, an Executive Committee meeting was held to plan for the forthcoming Congress in Rio, Brazil, this September. The Administrators Seminar kicked off with a presentation from the Senior Lecturer of the Sport and Exercise of Southern Cross University, Dr Dave Arthur, who flew in from Australia to present the Masters of International Sports Management. Mike Callan from Bath University gave a report on the third year of the 4th level EJU Foundation Degree for Judo coaches and the 5th level Honours Degree. Later Envic Galea called the two representatives of the two universities together, with Michael Aquilina, head of the Sports Institute of the University of Malta, to discuss the setup of the European Sports Institute, concentrating on the first, second and third level coaching and administrators.
Invited to the lecture tackling Long Term Athlete Development, which is also presently being studied and promoted by the Youth Section of the MOC, were the 42 Maltese coaches and representatives of the Maltese Olympic Committee.
Wednesday was Education Day. Franco Capelletti, 9th Dan, showed the principles of teaching very young children. Other interventions included the Promotion of Judo in France; collaboration of the German Judo Federation with Disney; and the three Levels of Coaching.
The Federation is thankful to its partners: the Malta Judo Foundation, the Malta Sports Council, the Malta Tourism Authority, General Soft Drinks, Air Malta and Sedqa, and all those sponsors who made all this possible. The federation is also gratified to Eurosport, Xfm, Vanilla Telecoms, Flamingo, Compleet-Is, Neriku, Fujifilm, Neriku, Koptaco, Impressions, AV Warehouse and Attrans Commercials LtdThe Malta Judo Foundation is now in the process of setting up the Malta Judo Academy to continue the promotion of Judo and take over the obligation of promoting Judo and to build the International Judo Centre.
Fonte: Malta Independent Online - Malta
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