The third qualifying stage of the “Battle of Cities,” launched by the Russian Judo Federation, the “Cradle of the Fatherland” charitable foundation, and the “DobroFON” program, took place in Cherepovets. Teams of the Northwestern Federal District competed for the right to advance to the grand final.
On the tatami of the Y.P. Solomonik Sports Palace, youth teams from the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, and Murmansk regions, the Novgorod region, as well as the Republics of Karelia and Komi, faced each other. After intense competition, two strongest teams were determined — they will travel to the federal territory “Sirius” in December to represent their regions at the international final.
It is important to note that the “Battle of Cities” is held in a new format for Russian judo, allowing athletes to gain as much competitive experience as possible, while spectators enjoy the beauty of the “gentle way.” Team confrontations continue until one side wins 13 individual bouts. Moreover, organizers discarded the “golden score”: in case of equal scores between two athletes, the match was declared a draw and each team received one point.
The best team in Cherepovets was Vyborg. Representatives of the Leningrad Region gave up only six points at the group stage and confidently advanced to the playoffs. There they first secured a solid victory over the team from the Komi Republic, and in the final—in a tense battle against Kaliningrad—claimed the gold medals.
According to the regulations, both the champions and the silver medalists of this stage qualify for the Superfinal.
“Everything went great, everyone really enjoyed it,” said Elman Kurbanov, Deputy Head of the Department for Regional Development of the Russian Judo Federation (Northwestern Federal District). “The only thought that came up due to the number of participating teams is that the tournament could be split into two days: the kids fought a lot, and every match was extremely intense. But that’s understandable — a trip to Sirius, new judogi and tatami were at stake. Both coaches and athletes were satisfied, and visually the event looked very solid. We were pleased to gather eight out of nine regions. Only Pskov could not make it, though we hoped until the last moment.
Removing the ‘golden score’ added spectacle. Some coaches even built tactics based on this innovation, sometimes deliberately exhausting the opponent. In one match, a team was already leading 7:0, and the end seemed obvious—but suddenly the scoreboard showed 10:10!
Vyborg’s victory was expected. But I would also like to highlight the team from Nyandoma: the Arkhangelsk Region brought only six athletes, yet they showed character and challenged all their opponents.”
On November 3–4, the “Battle of Cities” will continue in Tula and Mineralnye Vody: in the Central and North Caucasus Federal Districts, all three medalists will compete for a trip to Sirius, with the third ticket determined in a playoff between the bronze medalists.
The medals of the new tournament will find their owners on the federal territory “Sirius.” Foreign teams will receive so-called “wild cards” — special invitations from the organizers without the need to pass through qualifications.
The Superfinal will last eight days, from December 6 to 13, and will follow the familiar Olympic knockout system. The battles will unfold in the Russian Kodokan — the Academy of Martial Arts.
Source: Russian Judo Federation
