The JUDO4ID project is officially opened!

JUDO4ID KICK-OFF MEETING

Between the 23rd and 24th of January, the JUDO4ID project funded by the European Union officially started. CS Bronx Powerlifting Club Bacău (Romania), Judo Klub Bežigrad (Slovenia), Special Needs Judo Foundation (Netherlands), and The Swedish Judo Federation (Sweden) met in Stockholm in a two-day kick-off meeting to plan the project’s innovative activities designed to revolutionize the world of adaptive judo and improve the participation of intellectually disabled people in sport activities.

To go deeper into the JUDO4ID story, the project conceives and tests innovative transdisciplinary solutions to make the supply and demand of physical activities for children with intellectual disabilities meet in an international context. Judo, the most recommended and preferred sport by UNESCO for optimal human development, becomes an accelerator for creating a sustainable sports ecosystem that makes it possible for new ways of playing sports to be offered.

In the next 18 months, JUDO4ID will deliver innovative practices that facilitate the physical and mental development of disabled people, with a focus on their social integration and autonomy. The project will equip judo coaches and physical education teachers with the necessary tools to work with students with intellectual disabilities, as well as design and implement an innovative judo training programme and necessary tools based on engaging sports exercises that can be played while practicing judo: a Judo Training Guide for Judo Coaches and PE Teachers working with ID Students, a Judo Animated Series for teaching children with ID judo techniques and principles, as well as a Special Needs Judo Competition Software to manage judo competitions for ID children and an E-guide for Organizing International Special Needs Judo Events.

All project partners will be involved in different stages of the project by providing their specific input, as well as contributing more widely to the core message and outcomes of the project while involving a wide range of local, regional, national and international stakeholders, such as the International Judo Federation and the European Judo Union.

The kick-off meeting brought together the Steering Committee of JUDO4ID, as well as a representative of the Regional Development Agency, North-East Romania, Andreea Leru. After the event, which was organized with the support of The Swedish Judo Federation, the big team visited the old town of Stockholm, ending the journey with a Viking dinner.

‘’JUDO4ID is about making judo much more friendly, inclusive, and empowering. We will have the honor of learning from some of the biggest trainers in adapted judo worldwide, Tomas Rundqvist and Tycho van der Werff. Our team will create a significant infrastructure for making the practice of adapted judo much easier and more effective. Also, our team has Miro Biliç, a representative of The International Judo Federation IT Team, our project bringing in innovative digital tools for adaptive judo activities and events. So stay close to our story.’’ (JUDO4ID Team)

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Main JUDO4ID website: https://judo4id.ro

Invitation and Outlines for the XXIV Ben van der Eng Memorial

Hereby, you are invited for the 24th edition of the Ben van der Eng Memorial, since 1998 the biggest tournament for Special Needs judoka. The Ben van der Eng Memorial welcomes judoka with any physical or mental handicap, guaranteeing safety and fair play using our 5-level FCS divisioning system. The BENG! tournament on the Sunday is a happy judo party, whereas the more “serious” Special Needs World Judo Games for shiai and kata are organised on the Saturday.
Take part in our tournament for an inclusive and exciting experience!

What do we offer?

This is only a preliminary overview. If you decide to take part you will receive a more detailed outlines document mid-March.

  • Friday afternoon April 12 is the divisioning workshop. Very much recommended for first-time participants, so that we can assess their judo ability in the correct way. On that Friday we will also start the weigh-in.
  • Friday afternoon is also the time for various workshops. The exact subject will be shown in the final outlines.
  • Saturday morning April 13 it is time for the Special Needs World Judo Games (SNWJG), a tournament for level 1-3 judoka of 16 years and older. The entourage of this tournament is a bit more formal than the Sunday event: Audience in the stands, electronic score- and timekeeping, etc. Also, judoka unable to do the weigh-in on Friday can do this on Saturday. Also- for the first time, we will invite visually impaired judoka of IBSA classes J1 and J2 to our tournament!
  • Saturday afternoon the second SNWJG tournament takes place: SNWJG kata. We are happy to welcome more and more kata enthusiasts each year and see growth in the Adapted Kata juso sport, supported by EJU end international success.
  • Saturday evening we will shake Beverwijk with a party in Assumburg Castle.
  • And on Sunday we will organise BENG!, the greatest judo party on the planet, for all levels. In a more informal setting, with supporters on the tournament floor. As a note: On Sunday we will also run part of the competition under the “randori” rules.

Location

Sporthal De Walvis
Van Loenenlaan 1
1945 ZH Beverwijk
The Netherlands

Hotels

First of all: You must arrange your sleeping vanue yourself. SNJF does not help you in booking. The main hotel is StayOkay Slot Assumburg which is also the tournament headquarters. They also take our guests but you need to book early, as Assumburg is often booked full by the end of January.

We do not recommend hotels, but please note that if you wish to make use of our shuttle service, you must book your hotel in one of the following places:

  • IJmuiden
  • Heemskerk
  • Beverwijk
  • Wijk aan Zee
  • Spaarnwoude

Outside these places we do not run the shuttle service and you may need to make taxi costs which can be expensive.

Costs for the shuttle service are € 20,– per person, for the whole weekend. Shuttles run from Thursday 11 until Monday 14th of April. It is extremely important to also note your flight times on the application form, for correct planning.

How do I apply?

First of all, download the form THROUGH THIS LINK.

Fill in the form as thorough as possible. We cannot repeat this enough, we have seen many disappointments and misunderstandings in the past due to incomplete or wrong information. So please take your time. The amount due will be shown on the INVOICE page of the form.

When you are done, send the form onlyto woc@specialneedsjudo.nl.

After your application is received, you will receive a confirmation email and you will be put on the APPLICANTS mailing list, meaning that somewhere mid-March you will receive the final outline information.

Closure date is March 15th

The Ben van der Eng Dojo is officially open!

The Amstelveen City Council was aware for quite some time that both BeterJudo and Special Needs Judo Foundation were looking for a suitable venue for their sport. Spring 2023, this all started to pick up speed through a great offer by the Council, by alderman Frank Berkhout: The old PE hall of the Piet Heijn School was made available to SNJF in the Amstelveen City Center. SNJF received the key in August and through incredibly hard work we managed to open a new dojo at the beginning of the new season.

Generous donation by various Dutch charity organisations allowed us to obtain a new tatami, wall protection and various thick crash mats, so as to modify the new dojo for our Special Needs judoka. And of course, it is entirely possible for mainstream judoka to use our new dojo as well. We plan to use the dojo for national and international training sessions for both mainstream and disabled judoka.

Friday, September 22nd, this all culminated:

The opening act for the new dojo was done by alderman Frank Berkhout, together with trainer Tycho van der Werff. Many prominent figures were present at the opening, amongst which national and international judo champions. The Judo Association (JBN) was present in the person of Hendrik Koppe.

Following the opening act, SNJF chairman Henk de Vries handed de official name plate of the dojo to mrs. Wil van der Eng-Kist, the wido of the late founder of SNJF, Ben van der Eng. The name of the dojo is now:

The Ben van der Eng Dojo

Finally:
A special honor for BeterJudo trainer Tycho van der Werff was 

A special honor for BeterJudo trainer Tycho van der Werff is when he received the IMAF and Kodokan Nederland pin of honor from Joop Pauel, co-founder of the International Martial Arts Federation and Kodokan Judo Nederland. Also, judo legend Karel Gietelink (8-times champion of the Netherlands, former national coach) presented Tycho with a plaque with kanji symbols stating “Beauty comes from within”. Of course, theis plaque will get a place of honour in the dojo!

After the official bit and some short speeches, Tycho and his colleagues presented a short judo lesson, in which all judoka participated. At 18:00, the normal scheduled lessons resumed- after all, they have to continue too!

Click here for pictures of the proceedings

Want to respond? Click here.