2022 was a year full of hard work, joy, tears, excitement, learning and achievement for the Judo for Peace South Africa programme. This was a year of perseverance. The team went through a lot and ultimately enjoyed the benefits of the seeds sown in the dojo, while the hard work delivered by all judoka helped them to apply the judo teachings to everyday life.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of judo in Azerbaijan. It is for this very reason that 2022 was of special significance for the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF). Important projects were implemented in the country throughout the year in the spirit of the jubilee.
The International Judo Federation has set as one of its organisational objectives to implement various activities in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus demonstrating that international sports organisations can contribute to the fight against global warming and climate change and generally contribute to sustainable development goals. Aiming to increase awareness among the global judo community but also through its commitment to decrease its carbon footprint, the IJF has already taken important steps to reduce its climate impact, through several initiatives.
If constancy were a country, this would be Japan and if it had friends, they would be France and Georgia. The podium of medals by nations shows an encouraging balance for the traditionalists, with an overwhelming Japan and some princes faithful to their reputation. The favourites have not disappointed in this 2022 that is ending, but to think that the result is easy to obtain would be to make a mistake.
Miro Bilic is a coach in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He works with both Judo Klub Bezigrad and also the very successful Mala Sola Juda, the schools programme which has been involved in the Erasmus+ SchoolJudo.EU project. With the IJF he is a member of the IT team with specific expertise in capturing the moments for the replay, a technical task that requires an incredible amount of focus and knowledge. For day 1 of the World Judo Masters in Israel the technical analysis is his.