Ponta Grossa hosts Social Judo Festival with 200 athletes this Saturday (24)

Ponta Grossa hosts, on Saturday (24), the 1st Judo Social Festival (FESJ), an event that should bring together approximately 200 athletes from different social projects of the municipality. The competition will be held on the court of the Casa do Piá Social Center, with a scheduled start at 1 pm and sports activities throughout the afternoon. The initiative seeks to promote integration between children and adolescents, valuing judo as a tool for education, inclusion and social transformation.

The festival is organized by the Social Center Casa do Piá, with sponsorship and support from the Municipal Sports Secretariat of Ponta Grossa. The proposal goes beyond the realization of sports disputes, creating a space of coexistence between institutions that use judo to contribute to the development of children and adolescents from different regions of the city.

Festival will bring together Ponta Grossa social projects

According to the organization, seven institutions and projects are confirmed to participate in the initiative. Among the participants mentioned are the Casa do Piá Social Center, the Cavanes, the Renovo Project, the Cravina Project, a group that works with neurodivergent children in Jamal and representatives of Geni Ribas.

The participation of these groups reinforces the inclusive character of the festival, which aims to welcome athletes from different social realities, territories and contexts of Ponta Grossa.

According to the organizers, the intention is to celebrate not only the sports performance, but also the positive results provided by judo in the lives of the participants.

The event seeks to strengthen the links between institutions, encourage coexistence and enhance the work developed by social projects that use sport as an instrument of human formation.

The competition will have five age categories.

The Judo Social Festival will feature contests between athletes aged 7 to 17, distributed in five categories, according to the age classes adopted by the Brazilian Judo Confederation (CBJ).

The categories envisaged are:

Under-9: athletes aged 7 to 8 years;

Under-11 athletes aged 9 to 10 years;

Under-13: athletes aged 11 to 12 years;

Under-15 athletes aged 13 to 14 years;

Under-18 athletes aged 15 to 17 years.

Depending on the number of participants, the categories may be subdivided by body weight and sex, respecting the criteria provided for in the regulation.

Disputes will be held in a single-player or replay system, depending on the number of competitors. Participants should use the traditional judogi uniform, and go through the weighing and accreditation procedures.

The project also provides for arbitration, support team and adequate structure for the realization of the fights.

Inclusion and social transformation through judo

One of the main differentials of the festival will be the participation of children and adolescents served by social institutions, including groups that develop activities with neurodivergent children.

The proposal is to provide an inclusive sports experience, in which participants have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, meet athletes from other projects and experience the traditional values of the sport.

In addition to physical development, judo encourages principles such as discipline, respect, courtesy, courage, self-control and self-improvement.

For the organizers, the festival represents an opportunity to recognize the work carried out daily by the social projects of Ponta Grossa, which find in sport an alternative to strengthen community bonds and expand the development opportunities of children and adolescents.

Check out the program of the Social Festival of Judo

According to the project of the event, the preliminary programming is organized as follows:

Timetable

Activity

1 pm

Official opening and ceremony

1:30 pm

Disputes in the U-9 category

2:15 pm

Disputes in the U-11 category

3 pm

Disputes in the U-13 category

15h45

Disputes in the Under-15 category

4:30 pm

Disputes in category U18

5:15 pm

Awards and closure

The organization said that the competitive activities are scheduled to begin at 13:30, with an initial expectation of closure around 17:00. The project schedule, however, foresees the awards and the closing at 17:15. Schedules may be adjusted.

Athletes must arrive at least 15 minutes in advance for weighing and accreditation procedures.

Event will have sale of snacks and drinks

In addition to sports activities, the festival will feature the sale of snacks and drinks on site.

The holding of the 1st Judo Social Festival has as its motto “Together for sport, for a better future!”, reinforcing the proposal to promote the integration between social projects and enhance the transformative potential of sport.

The expectation of the organization is that the meeting will become a moment of celebration for the athletes, families, educators and institutions involved.