The judo department of SV Fellbach is again organizing its Kappelberg tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
It has been three years since the judo department of SV Fellbach held its last Kappelberg tournament due to the corona pandemic. Everyone involved is correspondingly delighted that the 28th edition of the traditional event can take place this weekend in Gäuäckerhalle I – without any corona or fire protection requirements.
A look at the entry list shows how much the judoka have missed the Fellbach tournament in particular and competitions in general in the recent past. There are almost 400 names of fighters in the age groups U13, U15 and U18 from clubs in Baden and Württemberg. That’s more participants than in the 2019 tournament. “We were very surprised by the registrations,” says Martina Bobert, head of the Fellbach department. At other tournaments, the numbers have recently been on the decline, and some even had to be canceled entirely due to a lack of response.
Bloodletting also took place among the coaches
Which of course could also be due to the fact that the clubs and departments – like those of SV Fellbach – have lost many members because of and in the corona crisis. “We’re still fighting,” says Martina Bobert. On the one hand, to get more children and young people excited about the sport of judo, on the other hand, to generate trainers. There, too, says Martina Bobert, bloodletting took place, even if it wasn’t just due to Corona. Although more than a dozen trainers are currently trying to take care of the approximately 200 SVF judoka of all ages (at peak times there were more than 250), some of them only as a substitute. In order to get to the status of the pre-Corona period, “we will definitely need another one to two years,” says Martina Bobert. Meanwhile: The so-called bonsai course for children aged five to seven years is fully booked.
Only eight judoka from the host club at the start
The fact that only eight SVF judoka go to the mat at their own tournament at the weekend is also an after-effect of the pandemic – especially among younger age groups and beginners. Because the training was not only canceled during the lockdown, but also no belt tests took place, many only have the white belt. “You need a yellow belt to take part in tournaments,” says Martina Bobert.
The 28th SVF Kappelberg tournament will take place at the weekend in Gäuäckerhalle I. On Saturday, the U-15 judoka will fight from 11 a.m. and the U18 judoka from 3 p.m. On Sunday from 10 a.m. the age group U13 will be on the mats.
