WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL JUDO FEDERATION MR. MARIUS VIZER

48ee1e8a0a8f50dce4f8cb9ab418e211_sDear Judo Friends,

The World Judo Championships 2015 in Astana, Kazakhstan is the most significant judo competition on the calendar of the year as it is the last World Championship of the qualification period, just one year away from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana has a strong sporting tradition and their preparations are already well underway for the next edition of the World Judo Championships. In 2015, the Olympic cycle will be in its third year and the race for qualification for Rio 2016 will intensify as the universal goal of all judoka.

Kazakhstan is already successfully hosting a Grand Prix during this Olympic cycle and they staged the World Judo Masters competition in 2012.

The Judo Federation in Kazakhstan was only established in 1973 but they have worked hard to produce results and to organize successful competitions. This will continue with the World Judo Championships next year.

Ahead of the competition, we will hold the IJF Congress to address the most important topics in our sport with support from our five continental unions and over 200 national federations.

I am pleased by the early collaboration between the International Judo Federation and the Kazakhstan Judo Federation and I thank them for their continued support both for this event and the development of world judo, wishing them well in their preparations.

President International Judo Federation
Marius L. Vizer