Welcome!

First of all, it is our pleasure to welcome you on the 25th anniversary edition of our great Special Needs Judo tournament. Like every year, we have a large variety of countries participating and we hope that you have good memories to take home after the event! So anyway: let’s start:

Arriving at Schiphol Airport

At Schiphol, please go to the Plaza (where the train station is) and look for the Meeting Point. There, one of our Marshalls will await you, and call for the shuttle bus which will take you to your hotel, or to the venue.

If you did not send us your flight number and arrival time yet (both in- and outbound) please do so as soon as possible to logistics@specialneedsjudo.nl . Also, please send us the address of your hotel if you did not do so already. We need this information to schedule our shuttles. If we do not know your flight number, you will not be picked up!

Shuttles

• You agree with your driver at what time you will be picked up in the morning. Please, be on time. We have hundreds of people to move around from their hotel to the venue, in a very tight schedule.
• The shuttles only drive between the venue and your hotel unless arranged beforehand with the Logistics Coordinator.
• Teams leaving early on the Sunday: Tell the Logistics Coordinator, and make sure your team is ready to go. Do not leave luggage in the hotel, take it to the venue. We have room to store it safely.

Address

The venue’s address is: Sporthal De Walvis, van Loenenlaan 1, 1945 TB Beverwijk. Parking available near the hall.

Schedule

(As always: subject to changes)

Friday, April 4th

• 13:00 Venue opens
• 14:00-14:45 Divisioning workshop part 1 for all judoka, coaches. Anyone can participate! Also, we open the weigh-in.
• 14:45 Short break
• 15:00-15:45 Divisioning part 2
• 16:00-18:00 Workshop “The importance of Randori” by Sensei HAMANA and VAN DER WERFF, in judogi on the tatami.

Saturday, April 5th

• 08:00 Venue open, remaining weigh-in open
• 09:00-11:30 Opening and then Special Needs World Judo Games 2025, for judoka 16+ and FCS levels 1-3
• 12:00 Prize ceremony
• 12:30-13:30 Workshop on the randoir competition system and about the new pilot rules for the lying starting position.
• 13:30 Special Needs World Judo Games KATA
• 16:00 Seminar by Tycho van der Werff about agura-nō-kata, the kata performed in sitting position. In judogi, on the tatami.i.
• 16:30 Kata prize ceremony
• 20:00 Party in Assumburg Castle

Sunday, April 6th

• 08:00 Venue open
• 09:00 Warming-up morning session
• 09:30-1130 BENG morning session
• 11:45-12:15 Prize ceremony, en presentation of the Laura & Leslie Trophy (see below)
• 12:15-13:00 Break with Ladies Orchestra 3igenwijs
• 13:00 Warming up afternoon session
• 13:30-15:45 BENG afternoon session
• 16:00 Prize ceremony, and presentation of the 2nd Laura & Leslie Trophy and the Ben van der Eng Trophy.

Special Prizes

The Ben van der Eng Trophy

The Ben van der Eng Trophy is named after our deceased chairman and founder of Special Needs Judo Ben van der Eng. This trophy is presented every year to the judoka or team that has distinguished themselves for Special Needs Judo in general, and the Ben van der Eng Memorial in particular.

The Laura en Leslie Trophies

Laura en Leslie van der Voort were twins, and judokas at BeterJudo. They passed away as a result of a brain disease in 2022 and 2023. In honor of their memory, their parents have made this trophy available to honor two judokas who distinguished themselves in a special way during the tournament in performance, style or behavior.

Lunch

We have reconsidered the lunches we offer to our participants. In previous years, we have sometimes found more than 150 discarded lunches in our bins. At the same time, we noticed that the queues in the restaurant were increasing. After taking everything into consideration, and given the trend to reduce waste and the considerable costs we incur for lunches, we have decided to replace the lunch with an “energy pack”. If you would prefer a more extensive lunch, you are of course free to bring your own or go to the bar, where the staff will be happy to serve you.

Pools

The pools will be published as soon as possible after this document. If you have a comment about a pool, please send an e-mail to woc@specialneedsjudo.nl, but we would appreciate it if you propose a new pool for the judoka in question at the same time. If you have any doubts, go to the divisioning on Friday, so we can make a more accurate assessment of the skills of the judoka.

Payment and check-in

All clubs: After entering the venue, please report to the tournament management at the main jury table. If you still need to pay for your tournament, you can do so there as well. We accept cash, but also most credit and debit cards.

When checking in, you will receive a package with t-shirts, and a voucher for the Energizer packages. You can use this to pick up the packages during the lunch break.

And furthermore..

This year we have a photo booth! In the space between the restaurant and the stands there is a real Photo Booth on Sunday, where you can have a great memory of the big BENG! tournament captured.

Photography at BENG

• On Saturday, photography is allowed from the sides of the tatami, but NOT on the tatami itself.
• Photographers are not allowed to disrupt the competition. You are either a coach or a photographer, never both.
• On Sunday, the SNJF media team will be on the tatami. If you want to take pictures from the tatami, you must ask permission from Bob Lefevere (bob@specialneedsjudo.nl). You will then receive instructions. Please note that we only allow a very limited number of photographers, and only for a limited time.
• The use of flash photography or video lights is not allowed under any circumstances.
• Participation in our tournament implies permission to be photographed.
• The photos will be published in the week after the tournament, on the snjudo.com website.

And next year?

In 2026 BENG will take place on April 10, 11 and 12.

We are happy to welcome so many enthusiastic participants! About one week before the tournament you will receive an email with the outlines, and the poules.

Until then!

See you at BENG!