World Tour

Room and Board Available for Chinggis Khan World Cup, Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Mongolia

USA Judo senior elite athletes are advised that room and board will be available for a maximum of two athletes and one coach at the Chinggis Khan World Cup, Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Interested athletes must be ranked with a B-Level on the current USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster.  Preference will be given to players with the most international points in his or her division on the roster.

To register for the tournament, contact Alyssa Johnson at JohnsonA@usajudo.us or 719.866.3684.

2009 World Tour Selection Procedures - Revised May 15, 2009

Athletes are advised that the events on the 2009 World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour) are no longer part of the qualifying process for the 2012 Olympic Games, per an announcement by the International Judo Federation in March.  These events will remain pointable in the following fashion:

  • All World Cup and Grand Prix tournaments listed on the World Tour calendar are USA Judo Senior A-Level Point Tournaments.
  • All Grand Slam tournaments on the World Tour calendar are USA Judo Senior A+ Level Point Tournaments.
  • The Senior World Championships is a USA Judo Senior A+ Level Point Tournaments.

This year, several modifications have been made to the 2009 World Tour Selection Procedures that make qualifying for the Tour different than previous years.

Among these are the following:

  • NEW: Athletes seeking to compete in a Grand Prix or Grand Slam event must hold a current USA Judo black belt ranking and meet one of the following criteria:

    a.         Have participated in a Pan American Championships
    b.         Have participated in a Junior or Senior World Championships
    c.         Have participated in at least one World Cup during the two years proceeding the Grand Prix or Grand Slam event.
     
  • ONLY athletes with at least a B Level or the current USA Judo Senior National Champion may request to compete in an A-Level or higher event. All rankings referred to herein are off of the USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster. All rankings must be held in the division in which the athlete is seeking to compete. Athletes requesting to compete in A-Level or higher tournaments and who do not meet these criteria must have approval from the USA Judo Athlete Performance Committee.

  • Athletes who do not meet the criteria above, but are seeking to petition the USA Judo Athlete Performance Committee, MUST submit their athlete resume via e-mail to Travel@usajudo.us by June 1 for consideration.

  • World Cup events will be open to a maximum of four competitors per country.  Grand Prix and Grand Slams will be open to a maximum of two competitors per country.

Athlete Selection Procedures

Athletes ranked as a B-Level or higher in each of the IJF Olympic weight divisions on the USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster at the conclusion of the 2009 USA Judo Senior National Championships (dated April 19, 2009) or who are the 2009 Senior World Champion in the division in which they are seeking to compete will be eligible to compete on the second leg of the 2009 World Tour - a series of USA Judo Senior A and A+ Level Point Tournaments held in locations on six continents beginning in January and concluding in December 2009.

All eligible athletes are listed on a roster on the right-hand side of this page which will be updated throughout the year.

An athlete only may choose to compete in a weight division in which he or she is ranked. 

For example, a #1-ranked athlete in the 81kg division may sign up for World Tour competitions in the 81kg division.  If this athlete has another ranking in another weight division and would prefer to compete in that division, he / she must wait until the appropriate corresponding deadline for his / her ranking in the division in which he / she would like to compete.

Only athletes ranked in the top four in their respective weight divisions as of April 19 who have a Senior B-Level ranking OR who are the current USA Judo Senior National Champion may request to compete in a World Cup, Grand Slam or Grand Prix event during the first round of selection.

These athletes must submit their requests for competition by June 5 to participate in the first phase of athlete selection.

Athletes may select from any of the World Cups on the World Tour calendar; however, each athlete may request to participate in a maximum of three Grand Prix or Grand Slam events.  Should more than two athletes request to compete in the same Grand Prix or Grand Slam event during this phase of selection, the highest two ranked athletes who request to compete in the event will be selected. 

NOTE: Athletes requesting to compete in Grand Prix or Grand Slam event must meet the requirements listed above prior to the competition.  Therefore, athletes who do not meet the above requirements, but who will compete at the 2009 Junior or Senior World Championships AND who are ranked in the top four in the division may request to compete only in Grand Prix or Grand Slam events that are held after the 2009 Junior or Senior World Championships.  In the event that an athlete is eligible to compete in Grand Prix or Grand Slam events by competing at the 2009 Junior or Senior Worlds and he or she withdraws from the Junior or Senior Worlds, that player will subsequently be removed from the roster for the Grand Prix or Grand Slam tournament for which he or she has registered

Athletes who do not meet the selection criteria listed above, may apply to the USA Judo Athlete Performance Committee for permission to compete on the World Tour.  These athletes must submit an athlete resume - including name, weight division, home club, former junior or senior national teams and best finishes in domestic and international competition - to Travel@usajudo.us by June 1. 

Beginning on June 8, athletes who are not ranked in the top four with a B-Level or higher who have been approved to compete on the World Tour by the Athlete Performance Committee may select to compete in a maximum of two World Cup and two Grand Slam / Grand Prix tournaments.  Again, all athletes requesting to compete in Grand Slam or Grand Prix tournaments must meet the criteria above.  If the number of requests to compete in a tournament exceeds the maximum number of entrants from the United States, the highest two ranked athletes who request to compete in the event will be selected. 

Beginning on June 15, the World Tour will be opened to all players qualified to compete on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Calendar of Events

A matrix of event dates, point levels and locations can be found by clicking on the attachment to the right of this page.  This matrix will be continuously updated as athletes select to compete in events or withdraw from tournaments.  Please visit this page frequently as this will be where all updates will be made.  NOTE: Any athlete withdrawals made throughout the year will be noted on the matrix. 

Forms and Entry Fees

As of this writing full event packages have not been received by USA Judo on all World Tour events, so dates are projections, based on the IJF 2009 calendar.  A $100 non-refundable deposit will be charged to your credit card in order to hold your position.  Any variations from the announced dates will be immediately provided by E-mail and Web postings on http://judo.teamusa.org/content/index/842.  Thirty days prior to the event the balance of the lodging, entry fees, etc. will be charged to your credit card.  This is done so that USA Judo may wire the funds requested by the international federation.  Requests for tournament information have been made to all international federations involved by either fax or e-mail; however we have not at this writing received all tournament packages.

The day following each ranked athlete's response date, an updated matrix, showing the events taken by each criteria athlete will be posted on the USA Judo Web site at http://judo.teamusa.org/content/index/842.

All elite athletes are asked to provide USA Judo's National Office with an E-mail contact address.  All athletes are reminded that participation according to your selection priority must be received by the above published deadline, and in writing, via e-mail to travel@usajudo.us.  The USA Judo National Office will likewise acknowledge confirmations, in writing, via e-mail. 

All athletes must have paid all outstanding debts to USA Judo and be compliant with USADA regulations at the time of submission.

Training Camps

Many of the World Tour events will have associated training camps following the conclusion of the tournament.  Players are encouraged to participate in training camps and any athlete who is ranked with a C-Level or higher on the USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster, dated April 19, may participate in a training camp even if he or she is not participating in the event preceding the camp.

Information on dates and locations of training camps will be posted as it becomes available.