Louisa Galea is one of the administrative secretaries of the Malta Judo Federation and is involved in the organisation of this major event – the largest event of an individual sport that has ever been organised in Malta.
“The MJF bid for the championships in 2004 came down to either us or Lithuania. We won the bid for this year, and Lithuania will hold the championships next year. Sports directors came to Malta to check hotels and the sports complex, and to make sure we are capable of organising it,” said Louisa.
Malta is heavily involved in judo on a European level. The MJF President Emvic Galea (Louisa’s father) is also secretary of the European Judo Union, while Louisa and Alexis Milne form part of the secretariat, “so the union is basically run from Malta.”
The European Judo Championships – Under 17 (participants have to be at least 15 years old), involves 43 countries, 400 athletes, 16 categories and 700 officials.
“The referees are all foreign, because they have to be C category. The table officials, volunteers and management are all Judoka or close friends of Judoka. These championships have helped us to bring back some people who have left the sport,” explains Louisa.
Through this event, the federation not only hopes to attract crowds to watch Judo of a very high standard, but is also hoping to create more awareness of what this sport is all about. With the help of the Malta Tourism Authority and the Maltese Council for Sport, as well as sponsors, it has been possible to make this event free of charge.
“Judo is not a big sport in Malta. We have so much entertainment and things to do that it’s hard to get kids interested. In fact, we’ve been trying to build a proper centre for years, to increase the number of people who take up Judo. We are also targeting schools. We want the public to learn more about Judo, because they often confuse it with karate. We will have an information desk for people who are curious about it, so that they can learn more.”
Children can start Judo as early as the age of six. Between six and 11 they only compete in special “tournaments” where referees pair them off according to size, weight and level. In the end, they all win a medal.
In the 12 to 14 age group, there is also a very controlled competition, separated into three categories, so that they all win.
Louisa points out: “We don’t like losers at that age. Only certain moves are allowed – you have to be careful with kids as studies have shown that arm locks and strangles can affect their growth. We try to minimise the sense of having to win at all costs; they’re still very disciplined, but they are playing and winning.”
I ask Louisa why she thinks Maltese women seem to do so well in Judo (they have won nine gold medals for Malta and it is the sport that has brought us the most gold at the Small Nations’ games).
“Yes, they have done us proud,” she agrees. “I think it’s because women are very committed and are capable of handling a lot of things at the same time. We’re hard-working and not spoiled, as we’re used to juggling lots of things – work, children and running a house. So to fit in their training as well, they are very focused and take it very seriously.”
At just 21, Marcon Bezzina is a two-time gold medal winner and is also very involved in the organisation of this event. She has just returned from the Small Nations where she won gold in the 63kg category. Two years ago she also won gold in the 57kg and to date she is the only athlete to have won gold in two different categories.
Marcon is currently studying in the UK, thanks to a two-year scholarship from the Malta Olympic Committee, under Olympic Solidarity, to train in Judo at Bath University.
“We train two to three times a day, and then we have academic work fitted around our training. My aim is to qualify for the next Olympics. It is more difficult to qualify in Europe, because they only choose nine men and five women per category. There are 35 athletes for seven categories from 50 countries.”
Marcon has a year to qualify, with the year starting and ending with the Euro championships. Each athlete is given points along the way, and there is a ranking much like tennis, with only the top five being chosen. There are also 22 wild cards for the whole world which are decided by the International Judo Federation, the IOC and Olympic Solidarity.
In the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Marcon saw her dreams come true when she went through with a wild card.
She started practising Judo at the age of nine, when she joined a friend out of curiosity. Finding that she enjoyed it, at 15 she decided to take it seriously.
“I started getting good results and that motivated me to do better. At the Small Nations 2003 in Malta I won bronze at the age of 17, and in the team event we took silver. Judo helps you to build your character. I was very shy when I was young, and still am, so it has helped me a lot. I’ve made friends and I’ve travelled to different countries, which is great.”
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of Judo is maintaining one’s weight according to one’s category. As competitions roll around, the standard joke around Marcon is: “How much ice have you eaten today?” as she chews on ice to stop herself from snacking.
“In fact, I had to change my category after my coach put me on weight training and my weight went up, because muscles weigh more than fat. It was too hard for me to keep my weight down, so I am now competing in the 63kg category. You have to eat moderately all year long, and then when a championship is coming up, you have to watch your weight even more.”
The next major event for Marcon will be in September, at the World Championships in Brazil.