The Tipperary 2022 International Judo Friendship Inclusion Games were held on Saturday 12th November at the Nenagh College Sports Arena, a world class venue by any standard.
Participants from across Ireland, the UK, Italy, Poland, Brazil and Switzerland traveled to Nenagh to take part in what was the only inclusive and fully autism-friendly judo event in the world.
The event was organized to bring together two great elements of sport, competitiveness and inclusion. Judo as a sport is the second most practiced sport in the world and is an Olympic, Paralympic, Special Olympics and Special Needs/Autism sport. Although traditional judo and adapted judo train side by side all the time, they rarely compete together at the same event.
This year’s event attracted competitors, both mainstream and with special needs, from across Ireland and across Europe, all of whom embraced and supported the uniqueness of this event.
Several elements have been added to make it as autistic and people friendly as possible. Some of these additions included color-coded control tables on the playing fields, express check-in procedures, no PA announcements, visual calendars on large screens and not related to judo. challenge matches off the field of play to keep athletes busy while they wait for their turn to shine. Highly qualified adaptive judo referees from Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Brazil and Ireland have been specially selected to ensure the full enjoyment and safety of all participants.
The event brought together over 240 competitors and hundreds of parents and supporters. The Mayor of Nenagh Cllr Hughie McGrath made an appearance and the President of the Northern Ireland Judo Federation was the guest medal presenter.
The local club, Black Eagle Judo / Judo Assist Ardcroney had an incredible medal count of 8 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze and 13 participation.
The tremendous community spirit that this event generated was amazing. This unique event is the vision and passion of James Mulroy, Chairman of Judo Assist Ireland and Head Coach of Black Eagle Judo/ Judo Assist Ardcroney. With his team of incredibly driven volunteers/parents, his vision was to have an annual international event where mainstream and special needs athletes can compete side by side at the same event and that is exactly what was achieved.
This was the fifth year this event had been held in Nenagh and after a short break due to Covid it was back in full force.
Nearly 140 children with additional needs competed alongside their mainstream peers, embodying the pure definition of inclusion and sport for all.
The incredible group of volunteers, which included community members, foreign guests, club coaches and parents, were just amazing. The generosity and support of national and local businesses has also been incredible. The event was proudly supported by Tipperary County Council, Nenagh Borough District, Subway Nenagh, A Country Practice Vet Clinic, Equistyle Nenagh, Expert Electrical Nenagh and Davitt Cleaning Services Gorey.
Local businesses also benefited from the influx of hundreds of people requiring food, drink and accommodation over the weekend, making it a huge success across the board. Traveling guests have enjoyed the great Nenagh hospitality of the Abbey Court Hotel, Andy’s Gastro Pub & B&B, and the Waterside Cottages, Dromineer, all of which have been the pride of the town.
Additionally, as part of the Inclusion Weekend and in conjunction with the EU-funded Autjudo (Judo for Autism) project, Judo Assist Ireland hosted a free and well-attended adaptive judo coaching workshop. This workshop was facilitated by international experts in adaptive coaching, James Mulroy (IRL), Cilia Evenblij (Switzerland) and Sean Davitt (IRL)
For more information about Judo Assist Ireland and its ambitions, please visit www.Judoassist.ie
