The Sixty-sixth Palo Alto Judo Tournament will be held at Menlo-Atherton High School, Ayers Gymnasium on Sunday, November 10, 2019. The school address is 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton CA. For further information and a campus map, visit www.mabears.org/About-M-A/Directions--Campus-Map/. Contests will begin at 10:00 a.m. See below for weigh-in times.

SAVE! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE NOW

SANCTION:              United States Judo Federation: 19-11-13

ELIGIBILITY:         Open to USJF, USJI or USJA current members (at weigh-ins you must present membership card, signed Waiver and Release of Liability, and Official Entry Form (signed by an instructor for non-black belts).

ENTRY FEE:             Discounted registration of $40 online up to 10/31/2019.  $50 online between 11/1 and 11/8/2019. $70 for walk-ins. 

Online registration will not be available on the eve of or on the day of the tournament. We will allow 3 lb leeway on weight (no Judogi) declared at registration.  Any difference greater than 3 lbs may mean we cannot assign the athlete to an appropriate pool in which case we’ll refund the entry fee. Be sure to download forms as directed.  Print, sign, have the appropriate Sensei sign, if you're not a black belt, and bring to weigh-ins together with your membership card. 

REGISTRATION/WEIGH-IN TIMES:    Junior Division (under 13)                7:30 to 9:00 a.m.
Intermediate Division (13 - 16)       9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Senior Division (17 & over)            11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Contestants will be allowed to enter in one division only.  Non-black belt competitors and their instructors are required to complete the "Certificate Regarding Non-Black Belt Contestants" and present the instructor's signed certificate at weigh-in.

See the following page for a description of the competition format for the various divisions.

MATCH TIMES: Juniors: 2 minutes. Intermediates: 3 minutes. Seniors: 3 minutes. Black Belts: 4 minutes.
Total match times will exclude Matte (stop time).

CONTEST RULES:  Current IJF Contest Rules modified as follows:

·        Borders between adjacent contest areas are 4 meters; outside borders are 3 meters. Contest area size is 8 meters by 8 meters.

·        We plan on using the CARE system on all four mats.  All referees please bring your own radios.

·        Golden score match times are ½ the regular match times.

·        Prohibited techniques:

§  No double knee drop seoinage for 12 & under.

§  No shime waza (choking) for 12 & under.

§  Kansetsu waza (arm locks) are allowed in Black Belt divisions only.

·        Any application of the above prohibited techniques will result in a direct Hansoku-make loss in the match.

·        Competitors will wear white and blue belts, depending on the side on which they are fighting; no other belts will be allowed. Competitors are required to provide their own white and blue belts. If you wear white and blue gis, you don't need to use the white and blue belts; however, if you plan on wearing a blue gi in competition, you must also have a white gi to wear as needed. You will not be allowed to wear a blue gi on the white side.

ALL DIVISIONS: Places to be determined by (1) most wins, (2) if wins are tied, most points, (3) if wins and points are tied, with contestants and coaches' consent, head-to-head match if they have not previously met and are within 3 exponents; otherwise the winner of the previous match will prevail, and (4) if the contestants do not wish to compete head-to-head, the contestant with the lowest exponents will receive the higher place.

POINT SYSTEM: The winning contestant in each match will be awarded points, according to the level of win, as follows:
Ippon: 10 points         Waza-ari: 7 points            Decision: 1 point

AWARDS:                  Medals for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places, 1st & 2nd places for 3-person pools & 1st place for 2-person pools.

COACHING:             Coaching while wearing a Judo-gi will not be allowed.

ACCESSIBILITY TO THE COMPETITON AREA: Only athletes and coaches will be allowed on the gym floor. All others are expected to use the bleachers.  Also, cameras and video recording devices will not be allowed on the gym floor.

OFFICIALS MEETING: The pre-tournament officials' meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. Sunday November 10^th in the old Dance Studio opposite Ayers Gym. See the section on testing and evaluation for referee attire.

CONTACT:  Email geert.ureel@gmail.com with any questions.

Brown and Black Belt Weight Divisions

• All competitors must obtain a signature from their Sensei on their entry form warranting that the competitor has sufficient aptitude and skill in Judo to compete in this competition.
• Only Brown Belts and Intermediate Purple Belts will be allowed to compete "up" in the Black Belt divisions.
•  Brown Belts and Purple Belts competing in Black Belt divisions must check the "Compete in Black Belt Pool" box.
• We will attempt to have a minimum pool size of 3 competitors.
• Pools will use the round robin competition format. We will make an attempt to give competitors four matches in their pool.
• Divisions may be combined, at the discretion of the tournament committee, to keep age, rank, and weight as close as possible for safety.
• New divisions may be created, at the discretion of the tournament committee, to keep age, rank, and weight as close as possible for safety.
• If we cannot find a suitable pool for a competitor, they will be offered a choice of taking a medal or getting a reimbursement.

• As a courtesy for those wishing to skip weigh-in lines on tournament day, we *may* organize optional satellite weigh-ins at designated early times and places.
• Competitors using a satellite weigh-in will have to register, present all necessary documents (including current USJF / USA Judo / USJA membership, and pay the entry fee before being allowed to weigh-in.