Member News
October 6, 2006
USA Judo National Assembly – An Event to Attend!
From the USA Judo CEO, Jose H. Rodriguez
In just under two weeks, the first USA Judo National Assembly will be held on Oct. 19 in conjunction with the U.S. Open in Miami, Florida.
Six months have passed since the last meeting of USA Judo was held in Houston and radical changes of bylaws and organizational structure were made.
Many members are attending this National Assembly with a sense of not knowing what to expect. For some this sense of not knowing creates for them a feeling of excitement and positive expectations. For others it creates a sense of concern. And nearly everyone is looking forward to attending and watching some great competition at the U.S. Open and seeing what is in store for Judo in the year to come.
No matter which of the three groups you happen to fall in, this is written to help those of you attending this year’s U.S. Open and National Assembly get the most out of your attendance.
Let me begin by letting you know what this National Assembly will be about:
… The assembly will provide those attending with educational opportunities… with new ideas on how to grow Judo… with opportunities to get involved in committees that may help the organization and the sport grow and to learn where USA Judo is heading over the next few years. You will hear about USA Judo’s plans for the two years leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as the London Games and beyond and you will hear how we will achieve this Vision by thinking out of the box.
At the same time, and since there will not be any elections until 2008, this USA Judo National Assembly will not be about politics or hallway politics.
The expectations of this National Assembly is that the energy spent during the day of meetings be used on thinking this sport out of the box and finding ways to support our state organizations, our clubs, our coaches and our athletes grow and be successful.
Thursday Oct. 19 has been divided into three segments. The first part of the morning, from 9:00 a.m. – noon, will feature exciting presentations geared to club owners, coaches, referees and top-ranked athletes.
Here is a sneak preview of the morning meetings. A complete schedule is available at http://www.usjudo.org/documents/2006USAJudoAssemblySchedule.pdf.
USA Judo Success Club Kit This is a new program designed in cooperation with Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) and Century Martial Arts Products for all USA Judo registered Clubs. Each USA Judo registered club will receive one Success Club Kit free of charge. During the presentation by experts in the field of marketing and promotions within the martial arts field, club owners will be instructed in ways that other sports have been able to attract thousands of participants. This is a not-to-be missed presentation for club owners and coaches. It will surely spark new ideas and will help you grow your dojo and your membership base. You will be asked and taught how to think out of the box and how to achieve success never before attained.
USA Judo registered clubs not present in the meeting will be sent a copy of their success kit in the mail.
A second version of this success kit will be published in February 2007. If you are looking for new ideas on how to grow your club this is the presentation you do not want to miss!
USA Judo Referees Workshop A presentation will be made by PJU Referees Chairman Carlos Diaz on the video system now in use in most IJF competitions. USA Judo will be purchasing two of these systems to be used at the U.S. Open and in other major events. All videos will then be kept as part of the USA Judo technical archives for coaches and athletes to use for the purpose of coaching and athlete performance as well as future referee education.
Referees attending this workshop also will receive the latest IJF DVD on border calls, courtesy of USA Judo. This will be the first of many workshops that will be hosted by USA Judo Referees Education Committee.
USA Judo Club Benefits Workshops Several key programs will be presented to club owners/coaches during this one-hour workshop. One of the presentations will be an insurance program that will be offered to USA Judo registered clubs. This program will allow club owners to purchase insurance at a discounted rate as part of a national program. Club owners/coaches also will hear a presentation on the National Police Athletic League and the Boys Scouts Venturing Program and how these two programs can increase the participation numbers in each individual dojo. This will be a dynamic hour of presentations and questions and answers that will benefit all clubs throughout the nation.
USA Judo Athlete Support Programs This will be a one-hour overview of some of USA Judo Athlete support program to include the “Adopt An Athlete Program” and the announcement of a new vitamin/supplement support program for ranked athletes. This is a key presentation for top athletes and their coaches. Eddie Liddie, Director of Athlete Performance will explain the athletes’ assistance program in place and how decisions are made to select award recipients.
A lunch break will follow the morning session.
Beginning at 1:00 p.m., USA Judo Standing Committees will meet from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. During this same time frame, several new committees will meet under the leadership of their chairs. Among some of these new committees are:
Women in USA Judo Committee – This committee will work with the national office to promote greater participation and opportunities for women within the sport of judo in the United States. USA Judo aims to increase women’s participation in the realms of athlete, coach, referee, and administrative roles. The committee will be made up of six women although everyone is invited to attend the meeting and more members will be added to the committee as needed. This committee will identify projects to implement in 2007 and beyond to reach its goals.
USA Judo State Organizations Support Committee – This committee will be made up of 8-10 state organizations’ leaders and its’ aim is to work closely with the national office in order to identify ways that the national office can better support the needs of the State Organizations. Further, the committee will be a sounding board for the national office staff in order to carry out the necessary operational changes that will be required in months to come in order to better serve the athletes and the clubs. Although the committee is already made up of selected individuals, everyone interested in the growth of the State Organizations are invited to attend this meeting. This will be a true working committee that will establish set objectives to be achieved between the committee and the national office.
The busy day will conclude with the USA Judo National Assembly where a recap of this year’s activities of USA Judo will be presented. Part of this presentation will include USA Judo Vision 2008 Beijing and Beyond plan.
Following the Assembly, participants are invited to attend a reception hosted by the Metro Dade Sports Commission.
It is our hope that this Assembly format will be of educational value in your quest to grow judo in your state, region and throughout the nation. We will try and make this a successful activity for everyone, but like most new ventures we will probably make a mistake or two along the way. We will aim to keep these to a minimum and, as always, we will be open to suggestions to improve on the concept as we move the sport and organization forward.
We all look forward to seen you in Miami in two weeks!
Until then, best wishes and safe travels!
Jose H. Rodriguez
CEO
USA Judo
P.S. – Follow our USA Judo Junior World Team as they travel to the Dominican Republic next week! Visit our Web site: www.usjudo.org to get the latest results news and pictures of our athletes taking on the world! Also, in case you can not make the U.S. Open, we will Webcast live the Bronze medal and Gold medal matches on Friday and Saturday evenings! USA Judo’s own two-time Olympians Leo White and Pat Burris will be doing the commentary with guest appearance by other key coaches during the program!!! |
