Judo Western Australia (Inc.)

Joondalup, 20th of September 2005

Egypt is always a great experience and it was good to be there again. As an African I used to visit Cairo on several occasions for training and competitions and sitting on the back of a camel in the blazing sun brought back some fond memories.

The first ever World Championships on the African continent brought together the best players in the game and we had an action packed 5 days of competition.

There were 5 tatami areas and 101 countries competing (which goes to show why judo is the second most popular sport in the world next to soccer). As usual the Asian and European countries were the favourites but there were heaps of surprises.

The results left Japan top of the medals table followed by the Netherlands and then Cuba, China, France and Britain. But the pleasing aspect was the number of different countries that won gold medals and the lack of total domination by Japan.

As a new migrant it was a special honour for me to be chosen as the Australian representative referee. The confidence shown in me is much appreciated and it was good to do my job with the full backing of the Judo Federation of Australia.

As with the players, the tension at this level can be felt wherever you go. Sometimes you make a mistake as a player and you get blown for ippon - as referee you may be overruled or overlooked. This adds to the necessary sharpness that the players deserve. As referees we must never forget that we are there in service of the players.

I hope that I can impart some of the experience and knowledge gained over the years upon the upcoming referees (don't forget the officials course on 23 October)

All in all it was a great experience and I look forward to the next big competition in Queensland (the Oceania World Cup) where I will be involved in the upgrading of the Oceania continental referees.
Till next time,

Carlo Knoester.
IJF A license referee