The inaugural European Games in Baku will be the first continental multisports events to include a para-sport discipline.
The announcement that visually-impaired judo will be a medal discipline at Baku 2015 came Friday at the close of the third EOC Coordination Commission visit to the Azerbaijan capital.
Visually-impaired judokas will be able to compete in a +100 kg category for men and a +48 kg category for women. Eight athletes will compete in each category with the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) deciding who is eligible. The competition format will be a knock-out elimination round, followed by two repechages and a final.
European Olympic Committees president Patrick Hickey told Around the Rings that the para-sport would add to the uniqueness of the Games. After this week’s co-com he said there was a real buzz in Baku as preparations moved forward.
"We don’t want the European Games to be a carbon copy of other multi-sport events. We want them to be innovative," he said in a statement.
"Baku 2015 has shown its hand in this regard and I am delighted with the proposal to include visually-impaired judo on the sports program. It is a welcome addition and absolutely in line with the EOC’s vision for the European Games to act as a catalyst for innovation in European sport."
In meetings with the EOC inspectors, the Baku 2015 European Games Operation Committee (BEGOC) also outlined further innovations in the sports program, such as the inclusion of non-Olympic disciplines like 3x3 basketball, beach soccer, acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics, and karate.
Street athletics will be showcased as a demonstration event in the city center, to further engage people in the Games, the 16-member EOC team led by chairman Spyros Capralos was told.
BEGOC, chaired by the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, also confirmed that eight of the 19 sports on the Baku 2015 roster had chosen to use the Games as qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Summing up the visit, Capralos, said his commission was impressed with the state of BEGOC’s preparations.
"There is just over a year to go before the opening ceremony of Baku 2015, so every day is important," said the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
"But after this inspection, even though there is still a large amount of work to be done, I have complete confidence that BEGOC will continue to be innovative and make good progress and will deliver the perfect stage for the inaugural European Games."
BEGOC’s CEO Azad Rahimov acknowledge that Baku organizers faced a race against time to be ready.
"Every day of preparation is hugely important as we move towards the delivery of the first European Games," said Rahimov, who is also Azerbaijan’s sports minister.
The next major milestones for Baku 2015 are in June when a chefs de mission seminar is scheduled and organizers celebrate the year-to-go countdown.
Written by Mark Bisson
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