Judo Changes Bring Sport Back to Its Roots -- Federations Focus

(ATR) The International Judo Federation believes changes to its competition rules will make the sport more dynamic.

The IJF updated its rules on Dec. 9 following feedback from athletes, coaches and officials over the past Olympic cycle.

The new rules prioritize athletes attempting to score an ippon, a move where they flip their opponent and pin them on their back. The move results in automatic victory for the match.

"Ippon is the goal of judo," IJF president Marius Vizer tells Around the Rings. "It is spectacular and demonstrates the skills of the athletes as it represents perfection in the realization of a judo move.

"The new rules definitely emphasize ippon because it is what every athlete as well as the public are looking for," Vizer added. "The IJF truly believes that it will increase the participation and audience engagement."

Some combat sports fear changing the rules could cause a break from the traditional martial arts, but the IJF believes its new changes bring the modern sport closer to its origins.

"The new rules are meant to promote traditional and beautiful judo, based on the ippon and the true spirit of the judoka," Vizer sad. "They will bring more dynamism, more speed and will give more space to the ‘attack’.

"It will be easier to understand for the public, easier to judge for the referees and more exciting for the athletes."

Click here to view an example of an ippon from the Olympic Channel.

$1 Million on the Line at Final Badminton Tournament

The Badminton World Federation Dubai World Superseries Finals are now underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The tournament represents the last stop on the 2016 BWF World Superseries Tour. The final tournament of the season features $1 million in prize money for the top eight badminton athletes in each BWF discipline.

Each of the competitors qualified through 12 legs of the series, competing in Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The event takes place at the Hamdan Sports Complex from Dec. 14-18.

On the evening prior to the tournament, the BWF announced five athletes as the first Badminton Integrity Ambassadors. The five ambassadors will promote clean and fair sport while serving as role models to the badminton world, according to the federation.

The five ambassadors are Ayaka Takahashi, Misaki Matsutomo, Saina Nehwal, Christinna Pedersen and Viktor Axelsen.

"In establishing this [integrity] program, we determined that, as our players are at the centre of our sport, it would be fitting to have some of them represent the ‘i am badminton’ campaign as ambassadors," said BWF deputy president Gustavo Salazar Delgado.

ITU President Casado Gets Third Term

International Triathlon Union president Marisol Casado is focused on improving her federation's governance standards as she enters her third and final term.

Casado was reelected as president of the ITU on Dec. 12, just a few days following the release of the second McLaren report detailing the extent of the Russian doping scandal. After the latest findings, Casado says federations need to improve their governance standards so this type of corruption does not happen again.

"I think very logically every organization has to evolve as I say for the ITU too," Casado tells ATR on a recent edition of ATRadio. "As much as I know after the McLaren report part two, it looks like the problems are quite defined in Russia and other International Federations."

Listen to the conversation between Casado and ATR reporter Kevin Nutley below:

WFDF Enacts New Policy for Transgender Athletes

The World Flying Disc Federation has initiated a new policy protecting the rights of its transgender athletes.

WFDF officials said they created the policy to clearly define guidelines for Therapeutic Use Exemption, discrimination and competition eligibility.

Under the new guidelines transgender athletes will have the opportunity to participate in WFDF events as the gender they identify with. An anti-discrimination policy was also adopted to impose investigations on any reported discriminatory actions.

The federation also states the new guidelines regarding Therapeutic Use Exemption are now "minimally invasive" to further protect its athletes.

The policy proposed is not required to be followed by its national governing bodies.

2017 American Cup Tickets Available Soon

Tickets for the 2017 American World Cup will be available for purchase beginning Dec.16. Prices range from $39-$255.

As a part of the International Gymnastics Federation's World Cup series, the one day event will feature star gymnasts from around the world. The event will be held in conjunction will the men’s Elite Team Cup and Nastia Liukin Cup

The American Cup will take place on Mar. 4, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center.

Written by Kevin NutleyandCourtney Colquitt

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