Vizer meets the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, Nov 27, 2013: On the occasion of the Judo Grand Prix and the Veterans World Championships in Abu Dhabi, the IJF President, Marius Vizer met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

On Monday November 25th, Marius Vizer was accompanied by H.E Mohamed Bin Thaeloob Alderei, the U.A.E. Judo Federation president, and by Nasser Al Tamimi, the IJF general treasurer and general secretary of U.A.E. Judo Federation. The delegation met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Al Bahr Palace. This meeting gave a very good opportunity to Marius Vizer to highlight the great job of the judo federation.

Marius L. Vizer expressed his pleasure to be in the UAE to see by himself the progress the U.A.E. has made in the sports in general and judo in particular in terms of practice and organisation. “The UAE has proven year after year its professional ability to stage sports events”, said Mr. Vizer.

During the meeting the evolution and progress of the judo in the U.A.E. and the advanced level it reached in the Arab World and overseas was discussed.

During one week Abu Dhabi and the U.A.E. became the Capital of World Judo with the organization of a successful Grand Prix, the Veterans World Judo Championships and the educational activities that where conducted by the IJF development commission.

Education in Abu Dhabi

On the occasion of the Judo Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi 2013, the IJF and UAE Judo Federation organised several activities for children to promote the educational values of judo throughout the country.

The first judo session was held during the Grand Prix itself. Children coming from Abu Dhabi gathered together on the tatami of the competition for a 45-minute judo clinic lead by Nicolas Messner, IJF Media Director and Development Commission member. This was the occasion for the participants, who are already judoka, to discover more in detail the spirit of judo as well as its values and its history. Then the children had the opportunity to watch the competition and to cheer for their champions.

The day after the competition, the IJF delegation went to Fujairah, 3 hours from Abu Dhabi, to lead an other educational judo session with children. Held at the Merbeh Sports Hall of the Fujairah Educational Zone, the judo clinic was greatly appreciated by the children, their coaches and by several parents.

Far from the important economical centres (Abu Dhabi, Dubaï) of the U.A.E., Fujairah has become a strong judo centre within a few years. “Three years ago, nobody new what judo was, but today we have among the best young judoka in the country. 150 judoka from 6 to 18 years old are coming every week to train”, said Mouh al Mouh, the coach of the region.

Mohammed Bin Thaloub, Président of the UAE Judo Federation said: “This educational programme is important for the development of judo in the region. Thanks to the IJF we are able to organise an important event with the Grand Prix. This year, we also had the honour to host the Veterans World Championships. And with the educational programme, we are taking good care of the future generations and we are able to show that judo can be spread even outside of the main cities.”

Actually, Mouh al Mouh is happy to underline that it is in a region like Fujairah, that it is possible to find good competitors. But more than that, the judo values are very important and can help the young people to become better citizens and to learn skills for life as the IJF Judo for Children representatives often says.

Nasser Al Tamimi, the IJF General Treasurer, from Abu Dhabi, said: “It is important that judo develops in all the Emirates. Thanks to a good collaboration with the Ministry of Education, we are planing to set up a strong educational programme throughout the country. The help of the IJF is crucial and 2013 marks the starting point of a wider program. We will use next year’s event, which will be part of the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification to give more visibility to the programme.”

This was also underlined by Salam Mohamed Kareem, who was representing the Minister of Education, on the occasion of the judo session in Fujairah: “Judo is getting more and more attention in the U.A.E. Thanks to the good work of the federation and the good results of our champions, we have gained media attention. The public can now start to understand what judo is. We believe that sports must not be taught to the children in a fun way. Learning by doing is important at that age. And we strongly believe that judo is a perfect tool to spread values within the society.”

“Judo is more than simply competition. Education is part of our DNA”, said Marius Vizer, the IJF President, before adding: “Beside our World Judo Tour and all the top level events that we organise every year, we are developing strong educational activities on the five continents. In the upcoming months, our new development commission but also all the IJF components will work in close cooperation with the UAE federation to held to raise the awareness of judo in the country and in the whole region.”

Actually, the IJF and the UAE Judo Federation are already working on a programme involving children and coaches that would be held next year during the World Judo Tour event. This event will be organised in cooperation with the Minister of Education of the U.A.E. and will focus on the pedagogical approach of judo. —- IJF