PARK UNDER MORE PRESSURE OVER ALLEGATIONS OF VOTE RIGGING AND BRIBERY FOR VOTES AS THE EUROPEAN JUDO UNION TAKES THE INTERNATIONAL JUDO FEDERATION TO THE COURT OF ARBITRATION IN SPORT  By Hans van Essen, 17 February 2006
MALTA - EJU SAYS “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” At the IJF congress in Cairo, last year, a situation arose in which serious questions were asked as to the eligibility of certain delegates to vote and/or exercise proxy votes.

Despite the request by a number of delegates that the voting rights be suspended of those individuals whose eligibility was in question, the issue was never put to congress for a vote. Indeed, discussion of this issue was curtailed by the General Secretary of the IJF when he was chairing the meeting and, subsequently, the president Mr Park.
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9th February 2006 - Korean IOC member and President of the IJF, Park Yong-sung, convicted of embezzlement and accounting fraud. SEOUL (South Korea): International Olympic Committee member Park Yong-sung was convicted of embezzlement on Wednesday, the 8th of February, in a case stemming from a family feud over control of South Korea’s oldest conglomerate. Park, the former chairman of the Doosan Group, was given a three-year suspended jail sentence and an 8 billion won $8.3 million fine by the Seoul District Court. He will be on a kind of probation for five years. The 65-year-old Park is president of the International Judo Federation, a post that gives him automatic IOC membership. He is also chairman of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. Park’s three brothers were also convicted in the case in which they were accused of siphoning more than 32 billion won $33 million in funds from Doosan subsidiaries and other affiliate firms. They also were accused of involvement in an accounting fraud that inflated company sales by about 283 billion won $292 million. Doosan said Park has no plan to quit his IOC membership or IJF post. In December, the IOC had decided against taking any action against Park because no judicial decision had been taken against him in South Korea. Now that he has been convicted, he faces the possibility of suspension or expulsion from the Olympic body. AP

8th February 2006 - The TOURNOI de PARIS STARTS SATURDAY - AN ANALYSIS BY JUDOINSIDE.COM       Tournoi de Paris is hard to compare with Europeans - The Tournoi de Paris seems hard to compare with the European Championships as the statistics prove. The 186 European historical winners of the Tournoi de Paris, only 15% have won the European title in the same year.

Even worse, since 1971 the 524 European Champions since the start of the Tournoi de Paris have just won 5% of the golden medals in Paris.

In total 23 judokas have won both the World Cup in Paris as well as the European title, in total 29 times. Edith Bosch (left) and Célin Lebrun were the last ones to be the strongest in both events. Bosch also won the world title and was crowned best European judoka.

Cécile Nowak from France is the only won to win the double three times in (1989, 1990 and 1991).

Isabel Fernandez (1999 and 2004), Jean Luc Rouge (1977 and 1979), right at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and Ulla Werbrouck (1995 nd 2001), left at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, won the double twice in their career.<P>

An example of a judoka who had trouble winning both is Mark Huizinga of Holland. He won four European titles but never combined it with a victory in Paris.

Five times European Champion Tamerlan Tmenov has never won Paris, just like Neil Adam (GBR).

Edith Hrovat (right) won the European title eight times in the past, but never won in Paris, just like Berghmans who won the European title seven times.

Huizinga, left at the 2004 Athens Olympics, however says:  “The Europeans want to win the European title even more, so Paris is just a strong tournament (the strongest) but actually for me it’s just a preparation tournament. Only for the French it’s very important as they have a home advantage.” And Huizinga is correct with this fact as 52% of of all European wins in Paris were gained by the French judokas. Source: JudoInside.com
 

The official opening ceremony took place on 29 th January and featured talent from the club with a spectacular presentation. Also present at the opening ceremony were past and present members from the clubs 54 year history. In addition, BJA Chairman Densign White officially opened the centre with a speech followed by a randori session with the club members. Densign White is shown on the left taking the randori session and on the right with club secretary Sheila Hearsey and club President Alan Rickard.  Pictures for sale

On the left from the on-line web page is Chiiaki Ishii of Brazil, 1972 Olympic bronze medallist, fighting Jean-Luc Rouge of France. Ishii defeated Rouge then lost to Nobuyuki Sato, the eventual champion at 93kgs.Unlike the Munich Olympics, Ishii didn't make it through the repercharge but at the next Worlds in Vienna, Rouge was the first westerner to take the light heavyweight title from the Japanese..

Saturday 31st December 2005 Judo: Olympic champion Tani gives birth to boy.   (Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Dec. 31_(Kyodo) _ Two-time Olympic judo champion and six time world champion,  Ryoko Tani gave birth to a boy at a hospital in Hyogo Prefecture on Saturday. The Orix Buffaloes, for whom her baseball player husband Yoshitomo Tani plays, made the announcement.

Tani, 30, who won the women's 48-kilogram gold at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, announced her pregnancy in June 2005 and sat out the world championships held in Cairo in September.

Tani won an unprecedented sixth straight title at the previous world championships in Osaka in 2003. She has made clear her plan to aim for a third straight Olympic crown in Beijing in 2008.
 

24th December 2005  President Putin invites Yasuhiro Yamashita to dinner.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin showed off his judo skills Saturday in nationwide television footage, giving a masterclass to students of a judo school in his home city. Putin attended the lesson together with Yasuhiro Yamashita, a legendary World and Olympic judo champion from Japan. Putin met Yamashita on a trip to Tokyo last month and invited him to visit Russia. Yamashita is on the left with his daughter and that of Mike Callan, Bath University judo head.

2nd December 2005 Russia’s Putin Elected Honorary President of European Judo Union MosNews.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has been elected the honorary president of the European Judo Union (EJU), Reuters reported. The EJU head Marius Vizer will arrive in Moscow on Saturday to give Putin a certificate acknowledging his new title. Vladimir Putin reportedly began judo at the age of 14 and he is the first world leader to move forward in the advanced levels. Currently, Putin is a black belt (6th Degree) and is best known for a “wicked” sweeping leg throw called the Harai goshi. Putin has won competitions in his hometown of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), including the senior champion of Leningrad. Now he is President of the Yawara Dojo, the same St. Petersburg dojo he studied at as a youth. Putin co-authored a book on his favorite sport, published in English under the title “Judo: History, Theory, Practice”.

2005 European Masters Championship photographs for viewing and for sale.
BELOW-Peter Mitschein GER threw Igor Shivydkin RUS for ippon to take the M2 90kgs bronze for 35 to 39yrs

8th November GREAT BRITAIN TO HOST WORLD CUP EVENT IN BIRMINGHAM

The British Judo Association has chosen Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena to host the Great Britain Judo World Cup on 1st and 2nd April 2006  Previously the BJA held British Opens, the 1995 European Championships and 1999 World Championships at the venue.