Hadjime! At the Dijon Sports Palace, the competition is in full swing. 300 minors, from 12 to 13 years old, compete in this tournament on this Saturday morning. In the morning it is the boys, and in the afternoon the girls.
On the edge of the field, Joris. He encourages 13-year-old Rani who fights in the under 73 kg category. “We get involved, but in the end it’s the athlete who fights. We advise.“Advice that bears fruit because the young boy wins his fight.
Seed of champions
An encouraging start to the competition for Rani who wants to integrate the hope pole of Côte d’Or. He will thus perhaps become a future seed of a champion.
Future champions like the cadets who take part in the tournament this Sunday. Thanks to the Dijon competition, the best of them will get points at the ranking, that is to say in the classification, in view of the French championships to be held in March.
A timid resumption of practice
Such an event organized in Dijon is a way to boost the practice of this sport in the department. It must be said that with the health crisis, some clubs have almost disappeared. “Everything has to be redone”, deplores Patrick Trepost, technical director of the Alliance Judo Besançon Dijon 21 25. “The recovery is there but timid.”
So, with a reinforced health protocol, the Alliance, which organizes the tournament, has maintained the competition. “If we don’t do anything more, nothing happens.”
The tournament, which also welcomes foreign delegations, also aims to re-mobilize the 4,000 licensees in the department.