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IJF World Tour events more important due to new IJF ranking points

IJF World Tour events more important due to new IJF ranking points

22 Feb 2017 09:50
IJF Media Team / International Judo Federation

In the new IJF point distribution system, the significance of Continental Opens in determining IJF World Rankings decreased dramatically. Where the points for IJF Tour events in some cases doubled, the Continental Opens maintained the same 100-point 1st place value as in the previous Olympic cycle.

The relevance of the IJF Grand Prix increased by more than double compared to 2016;  judoka can now gain as many points for a Grand Prix victory as that of the annual Continental Championships.

The Continental Championships also saw their points increase from 400 to 700, but it should be noted that the Grand Prix points increased from 300 to 700. So that means today, the Grand Prix events offer as many points as the Continental Championships. Whether this should be the case is certainly debatable.

The World Masters, an invitation-only event for top-ranking athletes, saw the biggest boost of all, going from 700 points to a whopping 1800 points. Simply participating in it earns athletes 200 points, which again is more than they would get for winning a Continental Open.

Coaches and athletes will certainly be eager for first round draw at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest. With an “easy” first round opponent, a fighter can capture 200 points for a win, twice that of a Continental Open champion. Most winners in last week’s Open in Rome battled through five opponents, likely of the same level.  For a single victory at the World Championships, it amounts five times more points than last year.

Making it to the top five of each event will make a greater difference for the athlete. A position in the final (TV) block is now awarded with substantially more points than last year; specifically, the repechage final dramatically grew in value. Where the motivation after a quarter-final loss was sometimes low, a fight for bronze could triple the previous point value.

What is yet unclear is the number of points to gain at the 2020 Olympic Games, but there is still plenty of time. It looks as though the IJF certainly increased the value of its own tournaments compared to the Unions. The technical director of the federation will have to make a choice for the IJF World Tour instead of investing in continental events. The Grand Prix of Tunis will move forward in 2018, changing from African Open to Grand Prix, but traditional historic events, such as the Polish Open that is held for the 54st time in March, or Euro Open in Sofia and Prague, both with almost 50 years of tradition, are simply downgraded to events for the U23 age. For the points you’d better go to affordable Grand Prixs in Zagreb or The Hague or more adventurous destinations in Almaty, Tashkent, or Hohhot.

The Grand Prix in Zagreb is just following the World Championships, like in 2013, 2014, and 2016. The best points will be up-for-grabs as many top athletes take a small break after their key event of the year. It was the same situation as last year after the Olympic Games.

At the Grand Prix in Düsseldorf, Tina Trstenjak will make her appearance as well as world champion Yeldos Smetov, Paris winner Frank de Wit, 2012 Olympic Champion Lasha Shavdatuashvili, and many more athletes.

In the forthcoming of JudoCrazy Magazine we will be analysing the World Tour in-depth. Make sure you get it HERE

 

 

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