The 2016 Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterships (WMAM) took place from September 2nd to 8th, 2016. The multi-marital art event’s opening ceremony showed congratulatory messages from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former president of Honduras Mr. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and other renowned individuals.
Governor Si-Jong Lee of North Chungcheong Province opened the event and indicated the aspiration for Cheongju to become an important center for the world of martial arts. JJIF was represented by its President Mr. Panagiotis Theodoropoulos and Mr. Igor Lanzoni of Italy.
The JJIF technical officials were led by Mr. Dylan Sung, who acted on behalf of JJIF for the signing the MOU with the WMAM Preparatory Committee during his service as the vice-president. The referee team, which Mr. Ralf Pfeifer took on the role of Chief Referee, consisted of 11 referees. Ju-jitsu athletes competed in two days of exciting competition. The Korean ju-jitsu team gave an impressive showing in front of the home crowd and won five gold medals. The Iranian team made good use of its experience in the sport and won four gold medals, with three in fighting. Although the competition did not see many international competitors this year, particularly those outside of Asia, the event was professional and well-organized.
JJIF extends appreciation to the WMAM Organizing Committee for including ju-jitsu in the official program from the very start. Despite preparations done at a professional level by the organizing committee and JJIF, the inaugural event did not provide sufficient time for JJIF member federations to include the event in their annual calendar of events. Nevertheless, it is hopeful that JJIF member federations could see the potential of this promising endeavor. Thus, more people in the worldwide ju-jitsu community will be able to experience the WMAM as well as the culture of Korea in the next edition.
Dylan Sung
JJIF Technical Delegate to the 2016 Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterhips
Ahora que hay un nuevo conflicto deportivo, esta vez en la Federación Dominicana de Lucha Olímpica (Fedola), reverdece el tema de la necesidad de un tribunal deportivo orgánico.
El periodista Dimaggio Abreu hizo una importante exposición sobre el tema en el encuentro que sostuvo el ministro Danilo Díaz con la prensa deportiva.
Neftalí Ruiz, en el matutino Metro, se ha referido al tema en reiteradas ocasiones, igual que otros actores deportivos en diversos escenarios.
Hace tres años, a propósito de un seminario-taller sobre arbitraje deportivo que se anunció aquí con la participación del juez español Andreu Camp, expresé mis dudas sobre los resultados favorables de ese cónclave, y recuerdo que el presidente del COD (Comité Olímpico Dominicano), Luis Mejía Oviedo, en la apertura se refirió a lo que había escrito, sin mencionar mi nombre, y a la importancia que tenía hacerme quedar mal (de buena fe), con la instauración de un tribunal arbitral robusto y transparente.
Lamentablemente el tiempo me dio la razón, el Tribunal de Arbitraje y Conciliación Deportiva no ha podido establecerse como una figura deliberativa que dirima los conflictos, principalmente cuando se trata de los atletas, que casi siempre son el lado fino de la soga.
Ahora bien, en un país donde en la justicia ordinaria se engavetan voluminosos expedientes a la vista de todo el mundo y nada pasa, ¿cuáles serán los jueces con la calidad y la ética de aplicar los conceptos deportivos con justeza? ¡Pura retórica!
