Judo has always been intimately linked to the university world. After a brilliant career in the World University Championship programme, Judo was introduced in the Universiade programme in 2007 (Bangkok). It’s evolution in terms of participation level is still amazing and this is also true in terms of quality.

History of Judo in FISU

Judo has always been intimately linked to the university world. The sport in fact developed within the universities of Japan before being sown throughout the world, thanks to the pioneering professors who emigrated to every continent and particularly to Europe. So it is not surprising that judo saw its first European Championship in Beauvallo, France, only to turn after two further editions into a World University Championship as of 1966 in Prague. In 1984 university judo was opened to women. From there on, judo rapidly took off, constantly increasing in size and importance.

Today, judo is the youngest compulsory sport in the Summer Universiade programme. It was presented as an optional sport at the 1967 Summer Universiade in Tokyo, 1985 in Kobe and 1995 in Fukuoka and turned into a compulsory sport as from the Bangkok Universiade in 2007. The FISU judo championships are second in the world in terms of the numbers of participants and are singular in that they also include a team tournament – something particularly appreciated around the world.

If judo’s evolution in terms of participation level is positive, this is also true in terms of quality. FISU championships have become major events in the judo world calendar, enabling athletes to prepare for IJF Championships or the Olympic Games. During the past 40 years almost two hundred World or Olympic champions participated in FISU championships: Japan’s Sonoda, Shinomaki or Russia’s Chochochvili are just few of them to be mentioned. Thanks to a close cooperation with the International Judo Federation, excellent results as well as a high number of participating countries, judo continues to take an important role within the FISU sports programme.

FISU Regulations

The judo competitions will be organised in accordance with the most recent technical regulations of the “International Judo Federation” (IJF). The programme and duration of the competitions are fixed by the Executive Committee in agreement with the Organising Committee and the CTI. In principle, the judo competitions will last five (5) days and will include the following events:
 

Each country is authorised to enter a maximum of sixteen (16) judoka:

• individual competition men: a maximum of one (1) judoka per weight category and in open category,
• individual competition women: a maximum of one (1) judoka per weight category and in open category,
• team competitions for men: a team is composed of a maximum of five (5) judokas and a minimum of three (3) judokas,
• team competitions for women: a team is composed of a maximum of five (5) judokas and a minimum of three (3) judokas.

Teams must be composed of competitors who are also accredited in the individual categories. On the day of the team competition, the competitors may compete in the weight category in which they are entered or in the category immediately above.
The international referees will be appointed by the IJF in close cooperation with FISU and the Organising Committee. The countries participating in the judo competition must participate in covering the costs of the international referees and judges from IJF (Art. 5.3.1).

Minimum Requirements for Judo

The Organising Committee must provide, for exclusive use, suitable sports halls to accommodate the judo competition as approved by the Judo CT. The IJF regulations must be followed.

Competition Facilities

• The competition hall must be large enough to contain a minimum of four (4) mats corresponding to international competition norms
• The competition hall and annexes must be protected against unauthorised intrusion by a system of passes, controlled by an official security service

Each mat area must be equipped with the following:

• two (2) electronic scoreboards visible throughout the competition hall,
• a display system for the competitors' names,
• stand-by manual and scoring facilities,
• a gong or other audible system, which must be different for each mat,
• the various flags required by the IJF refereeing rules,
• a public-address system (microphone), which may be connected to those of the other mats, but must be distinct from that of the official table.

Annexes to the Competition Hall

• Two (2) weigh-in rooms are necessary (one for women, one for men)
• Draw room: the room provided must be large enough to contain the official representatives of all delegations (to 400 people)
• Medical service
• Massage room
• Doping control room
• A warm-up room (with a minimum mat area of 150 - 200 m2) must be provided in the vicinity of the competition hall. The warm-up room should be connected to the public-address system, to keep athletes informed
• Press room
• VIP lounge
• Meeting room

A meeting room (15-20 seats maximum) should be provided, to be reserved for the meetings of the Judo CT.

Previous Events 

• 2009 - 25th Summer Universiade – Belgrade (SRB)
• 2007 - 24th Summer Universiade – Bangkok (THA)
• 2006 - 18th WUC Judo – Suwon (KOR)
• 2005 - 23rd Summer Universiade – Izmir (TUR)
• 2004 - 17th WUC Judo – Moscow (RUS)
• 2003 - 22nd Summer Universiade – Daegu (KOR)
• 2002 - 16th WUC Judo – Novi Sad (SCG)
• 2001 - 21st Summer Universiade – Beijing (CHN)
• 2000 - 15th WUC Judo – Malaga (ESP)
• 1999 - 20th Summer Universiade – Palma de Mallorca (ESP)
• 1998 - 14th WUC Judo – Prague (CZE)
• 1996 - 13th WUC Judo – Jonquière (CAN)
• 1995 - 18th Summer Universiade – Fukuoka (JPN)
• 1994 - 12th WUC Judo – Münster (GER)
• 1990 - 11th WUC Judo – Brussels (BEL)
• 1988 - 10th WUC Judo – Tbilissi (URS)
• 1987 - 9th WUC Judo – Sao Paulo (BRA)
• 1985 - 13th Summer Universiade – Kobe (JPN)
• 1984 - 8th WUC Judo – Strasbourg (FRA)
• 1982 - 7th WUC Judo – Jyvaskyla (FIN)
• 1980 - 6th WUC Judo – Wroclaw (POL)
• 1978 - 5th WUC Judo – Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
• 1974 - 4th WUC Judo – Brussels (BEL)
• 1972 - 3rd WUC Judo – London (GBR)
• 1968 - 2nd WUC Judo – Lisboa (POR)
• 1967 - 5th Summer Universiade – Tokyo (JPN)
• 1966 - 1st WUC Judo – Prague (TCH)