Following the IJF Executive Committee meeting on the 17th January 2019, the IJF has released some major changes that will affect our programs and competitions here in Australia.
One of these changes is the removal of the Junior 44kg female and 55kg male categories, effective immediately at the international level. Our National Junior Selection documents for major international tournaments have now been revised and republished on the Selection Documents page to reflect this significant change.
Due to the extremely short notice the Junior divisions for the upcoming ACT International Open and Sydney International Open will not change.
Judo Australia will communicate what this change means for our domestic competitions and when any potential change will be implemented in Australia as soon as possible.
Athletes seeking to gain selection for Junior international events should consider this change now, as JA will not be able to select any athletes for events in the 44kg female and 55kg male divisions.
Another significant change is the increase in participants for the year end IJF Masters. Starting from this year, the IJF will invite the top 36 athletes on the World Ranking List in each category for the Masters rather than Top 16.
Please see the IJF Changes document for full detail.
The IJF have also released Referee Rule Clarifications for the 2018-2020 period.