Exactly 70 children from the Judo Union Klosterneuburger and the Galaxy Tigers gathered in the southern part of the city at the weekend to compete in a Randori tournament together.
In contrast to conventional competitions, the Randori does not focus on the best possible placement, but on the development of young talents. In randori, children are divided into groups and then fight each member of their group for three minutes.
Evaluation is based on other parameters: use, variety of technique, and the transitions are also evaluated. Each competitor is given a score based on these scores, and the goal should be to exceed that score at the next randori.
This mode offers a number of advantages. All children get more fighting time, no one can be eliminated in the first round and has to watch the rest of the tournament while the parents enjoy fixed start and finish times. The coaches are only there to motivate their protégés.
According to Robert Haas, chairman of the Judo Union Klosterneuburg, who brought this project into being, the popularity is enormous: “We have already held a few Randori tournaments and we were actually always fully booked. I’m almost a bit surprised that more clubs don’t rely on this format. It’s definitely a lot of fun for the kids and takes the pressure off of a traditional competition.”
