The draw for the second stage of the "Battle of Cities"—an international project organized by the Russian Judo Federation (RJF) and the "Cradle of the Fatherland" charity program, with the support of general sponsor Fonbet—took place in Moscow on June 23. The draw determined the lineups for eight tournaments in which 64 teams of judokas under the age of 18 from all of Russia's federal districts will compete for a spot in the final stage of the competition.
The draw was conducted by RJF President Sergey Soloveychik, Federation Vice-President Mikhail Cherkasov, RJF Sports Director Kirill Denisov, and Inessa Kuznetsova, President of the "Cradle of the Fatherland" charity program.
As a reminder, the first stage of the "Battle of Cities" took place in April and May of this year. Based on the results of eight tournaments, eight teams from each federal district qualified to advance to the next stage.
The draw for the second stage resulted in the formation of eight so-called "legions"—one for each federal district. Each legion comprises four "home" teams that topped their groups in the first-stage tournaments, along with four additional teams—selected by draw—that finished second in their respective groups during tournaments held in other federal districts. Competition within the legions will follow a mixed format involving two groups.
The opening tournament of the second stage will take place in the Siberian Federal District—hosted by the "Pyotr Bagration" Legion in Krasnoyarsk from September 3 to 7. The draw placed teams from Nazran and Tryokhgorny into Group A alongside squads from Chernogorsk and Irkutsk. In Group B, visiting teams from Izhevsk and Kerch will compete alongside judokas from Krasnoyarsk and Barnaul.
The next tournament of the second stage is scheduled for September 10–14 in Rostov-on-Don (Southern Federal District). Group A of the "Dmitry Donskoy" Legion comprises teams from Ust-Labinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Orsk, and Kovrov. For Division B, the draw assigned athletes from Magnitogorsk and Achinsk to join the squads from Krasnodar and Maykop.
The third tournament of this stage of the "Battle of Cities" will take place in Stavropol (North Caucasian Federal District) from September 17 to 21. Group A of the "Alexander Suvorov" Legion will consist of teams from Nalchik, Grozny, Kaliningrad, and Troitsk. Teams from Cherkessk, Stavropol, Simferopol, and Novosibirsk will compete in Group B.
Subsequently, the project's second stage will continue in Chelyabinsk (Ural Federal District) from September 24 to 28. Group A of the "Fyodor Ushakov" Legion comprises teams from Yekaterinburg, Nyagan, Blagoveshchensk, and Yelets. The quartet in Group B consists of squads from Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Gatchina, and Volzhsky.
Next, the second stage of the "Battle of Cities" moves to Saratov (Volga Federal District), where teams from the "Georgy Zhukov" Legion will compete from October 1 to 5. Representatives from Kazan, Saratov, Makhachkala, and Cherepovets have been placed in Group A, while teams from Perm, Orenburg, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Severouralsk make up Group B.
This will be followed by a tournament in the Far Eastern Federal District—specifically in Khabarovsk—where teams from the "Pyotr Nakhimov" Legion will vie for the top spot from October 15 to 19. The draw assigned judokas from Ulan-Ude, Vladivostok, Akhmat-Yurt, and Angarsk to Group A, while squads from Chita, Gusinoozersk, Ufa, and Tobolsk comprise Division B.
The penultimate tournament of the second stage of the "Battle of Cities" will take place in Vyborg (Northwestern Federal District) from October 21 to 25. Group A of the "Alexander Nevsky" Legion comprises the St. Petersburg team "Leningrad" and athletes from Guryevsk, Selenginsk, and Volgograd. In Group B, teams from Tver and Nizhny Novgorod were drawn alongside the "Petrograd" and "Petersburg" squads from the Northern Capital.
The second stage of the "Battle of Cities" will conclude in the Russian capital from October 25 to 29. Group A of the "Mikhail Kutuzov" Legion includes teams from Khimki, Moscow, Vladikavkaz, and Pskov. Division B will feature two additional squads from cities in the Central Federal District—Fryazino and Lipetsk—as well as visiting teams from Ussuriysk and Omsk.
The winners from each legion will compete in the "Battle of Cities – Grand Final," the all-Russian concluding tournament taking place in Moscow this November. Then, in December, the capital will host the spectacular international "Battle of Cities" Super Final. Competing for a substantial prize pool will be:
- the top 16 Russian teams based on the results of the second stage,
- 8 teams from abroad invited by the organizers,
- 8 teams determined through head-to-head matches between Russian and international squads in eight cities around the world.
Source: Russian Judo Federation
