2010 IBSA World Championships Trials to be Held Dec. 5 for 57kg and 81kg Divisions

At the conclusion of the Trials for the 2010 International Blind Sports Association World Championships, which were held on Sept. 26 in conjunction with the U.S. Open in San Jose, Calif., the women's 57kg and men's 81kg divisions were uncontested and remain unfilled.  

USA Judo has recently been notified that the 2010 World Championships, which will be held March 25-29 in Antalya, Turkey, are expected to be a qualifying event for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Therefore, a World Trials will be held on Dec. 5 at the Brian Olson Winter Classic in Boulder, Colo.

All athletes participating in the World Team Trials must be U.S. citizens and be eligible to represent the United States in Paralympic competition.

The Trials will ONLY be held in the 57kg and 81kg divisions as the remainder of the Team was named on Sept. 26.  

The Trials will be open to any player who has been classified as visually impaired at an IBSA or International Paralympic Committee event as a B1, B2 or B3 athlete in the past 10 years or provide a letter from an optometrist or ophthalmologist verifying visual acuity.

A description of classification is as follows:

Class B1: No light perception in either eye up to light perception, but inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction.

Class B2: From ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to visual acuity of 20/600 and/or a visual field of less than 5 degrees in the best eye with the best practical eye correction.

Class B3: From visual acuity above 20/600 and up to visual acuity of 20/200 and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees and more than 5 degrees in the best eye with the best practical eye correction.

*Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together.

The Trials will be held as a round robin event.  If the #1 seed in the division, based on the USA Judo Visually Impaired Elite National Roster dated Dec. 4, wins the round robin, he or she will be named to the Team.

If the #1 seed does not win the round robin, a best-of-three match fight-off will be held between the #1 seed and the winner of the round robin.  

If no ranked players are in attendance, the winner of the round robin will be named to the Team. 

All World Team Trials participants must contact USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance Eddie Liddie at Eddie.Liddie@usajudo.us by Nov. 13 to confirm participation in the Trials.

In the event that an athlete is uncontested, he or she will be named to the Team; however, please note, an uncontested athlete MUST still attend the Trials and MUST make weight.  

An athlete named to the World Team may be removed from the nomination for any of the following reasons, as determined by the Athlete Performance Committee:

* Voluntary withdrawal.  Athlete must submit a written letter to Eddie Liddie, Director of Athlete Performance.

* Injury or illness as certified by a USA Judo approved physician (or medical staff).  If an athlete refuse verification of their illness or injury by a USA Judo approved care giver, their injury will be assumed to be disabling and they may be removed.

* Violation of the USA Judo Code of Conduct. 

2010 IBSA World Championships Selection Criteria

The 2010 International Blind Sports Association World Championships will be held in Antalya Turkey, March 25-29.  The IBSA World Championships are an A-Level Point Tournament on the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Roster. 

The World Team Trials for the 2010 IBSA World Championships will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Visually Impaired U.S. Open Judo Championships to be held September 26, 2009 in San Jose, Calif.  All athletes participating in the World Team Trials must be U.S. citizens and be eligible to represent the United States in Paralympic competition.

The Trials will be held in all IJF divisions (Male 60, 66, 73, 81, 90, 100, and +100; Female 48, 52, 57, 63, 70, 78, and +78kg). 

Participants must have been classified as visually impaired at an IBSA or International Paralympic Committee event as a B1, B2 or B3 athlete in the past 10 years or provide a letter from an optometrist or ophthalmologist verifying visual acuity.

A description of classification is as follows:

Class B1: No light perception in either eye up to light perception, but inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction.

Class B2: From ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to visual acuity of 20/600 and/or a visual field of less than 5 degrees in the best eye with the best practical eye correction.

Class B3: From visual acuity above 20/600 and up to visual acuity of 20/200 and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees and more than 5 degrees in the best eye with the best practical eye correction.

*Visual groups B1, B2 and B3 will compete together.

If the #1 seeded player in a division is the highest placing U.S. athlete in his or her division, he or she will be named to the 2010 World Championship Team.   In this scenario, if the World Team member declines to participate, the slot will be offered to the #1-ranked athlete in that division on the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Roster, dated Sept. 27, 2009.  Subsequent declines will result in a progressive movement down the roster, according to the same criteria.

If an athlete other than the #1 seed is the highest placing U.S. athlete in the division, there will be a best-of-three fight-off between the #1 seeded player and the highest placing U.S. athlete with the winner being named to the World Team.  In this scenario, if the World Team member declines to participate, the slot will be offered to the loser of the fight-off.  If that player declines the slot, it will be offered to the #1-ranked athlete in that division on the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Roster, dated Sept. 27, 2009.  Subsequent declines will result in a progressive movement down the roster, according to the same criteria.

If the #1 seeded player and another U.S. athlete tie as the highest placing U.S. athletes (i.e., both finish in 3^rd place), there will be a best-of-three three fight-off between the #1 seeded athlete and the other highest placing U.S. athlete with the winner being named to the World Team.  In this scenario, if the World Team member declines to participate, the slot will be offered to the loser of the fight-off.  If that player declines the slot, it will be offered to the #1-ranked athlete in that division on the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Roster, dated Sept. 27, 2009.  Subsequent declines will result in a progressive movement down the roster, according to the same criteria.

If two U.S. athletes tie as the highest placing U.S. athletes and neither is the #1 seed, all three athletes will participate in a round-robin fight-off with the winner being named to the World Team.  In this scenario, if the World Team member declines to participate, the slot will be offered first to the second-place finisher in the fight-off.  Should that player decline the slot, it will be offered to the third-place finisher in the fight-off.  If that player declines the slot, it will be offered to the #1-ranked athlete in that division on the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Roster, dated Sept. 27, 2009.  Subsequent declines will result in a progressive movement down the roster, according to the same criteria.

If a division does not have any seeded players, the highest placing U.S. athlete will be the representative.  If this player declines to participate, a representative will not be sent to the World Championships in this division.

If two athletes tie as the highest placing U.S. athlete in a division with no seeded players, the two tied players will participate in a best-of-three fight-off.  In this scenario, if the World Team member declines to participate, the slot will be offered to the loser of the fight-off.  If this player declines to participate, a representative will not be sent to the World Championships in this division.

An athlete named to the World Team may be removed from the nomination for any of the following reasons, as determined by the Athlete Performance Committee:

* Voluntary withdrawal.  Athlete must submit a written letter to Eddie Liddie, Director of Athlete Performance.

* Injury or illness as certified by a USA Judo approved physician (or medical staff).  If an athlete refuse verification of their illness or injury by a USA Judo approved care giver, their injury will be assumed to be disabling and they may be removed.

* Violation of the USA Judo Code of Conduct. 

 

Selection Criteria for the 2009 IBSA Pan American Games

The International Blind Sports Association Pan American Games will be held July 19 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The 2009 USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships, April 18 in San Diego, referred to herein as the "Nationals," will serve as the Trials for the event. 

Each delegation is allowed to send a maximum of two competitors per weight division to this event.  Therefore, the two athletes who place highest in each weight division will receive invitations to the Pan Am Games. 

If a division has only one competitor, he or she will receive an automatic invitation to the Team, but will have the opportunity to fight up a weight division.  The automatic invitation is contingent, however, upon the athlete making his or her declared weight during the morning weigh-ins.  For example, if an athlete is uncontested in the 60kg division, he may fight up to the 66kg division at the Nationals, but he must weigh in at 60kg or less during the weigh-in session.

Any athletes who placed in the top five at the 2008 Paralympic Games will receive status as the top seed in his or her division.  As the top seed, if he or she fails to place in the top two in his or her division, a one-match fight-off will be held between the top seed and the athlete who placed second in the division to determine who receives the second berth in the division to the Pan American Games. 

If the athlete selected, according to the above criteria, declines for any reason, the person who placed the next highest at the Nationals will be the athlete selected.  Subsequent declines will result in a progressive movement down the placings list, according to the same criteria.

An athlete who is to be nominated to the Pan Am Games Team may be removed from the nominations for any of the following reasons, as determined by the Athlete Performance Committee:

* Voluntary withdrawal.  Athlete must submit a written letter to Eddie Liddie, Director of Coaching and Athlete Performance.

* Injury or illness as certified by a USA Judo approved physician (or medical staff).  If an athlete refuses verification of their illness or injury by a USA Judo approved care giver, their injury will be assumed to be disabling and they may be removed.

* Violation of the USA Judo Code of Conduct. 

In order to compete in the 2009 USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships and / or qualify for the Pan American Games Team, an athlete must be eligible to represent the United States in Paralympic or World Championship competition.

Funding will be announced at a later date.