Jordan is the latest add to the expanding selection of school programmes worldwide. With several hundreds of judoka in the country, the sport is still new to many. The IJF Judo in Schools program brings the perfect opportunity to introduce more people to the sport.

During the launch of the project, Jordan Olympic Committee Education Department Manager, Sawsan Qaddoumi, presented the programme and highlighted the importance of the Olympic Values, such as respect and friendship, in promoting sport in our everyday lives. Values that are identical to the judo values.

The new programme is a cooperation between the International Judo Federation, the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), the Jordan Judo Federation and the English School. It will make use of the expertise of the IJF Judo for Children Commission, led by Ruben Houkes. The Commission brings a new and unique physical methodology to primary schools and will educate children not only in judo and basic motor skills, but more importantly it will teach them important social skills like respect, honesty, friendship, and more generally skills for life.

During the launch at the Judo Sports Centre of the Jordan Federation, the parents and children could enjoy a judo show and already get a glimpse of the programme.

Baker Al Abbadi, President of the Jordan Judo Federation, pointed out the significance of the partnership in promoting the sport in the Kingdom by creating more awareness. English School Manager, Amal Al-Qasim, said the school was grateful to have the opportunity to host the initiative which fits in with their philosophy to promote a healthy lifestyle among the pupils.

In the upcoming months, the Judo for the World Series will also visit Jordan to illustrate the growing interest of the population towards our sport.

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