The USA Judo and Wrestling Olympic Trials take place June 13-15 and will decide who is added to the short list of 500 or so American Olympians who will have the immense privilege to compete in Beijing. The judo competition will be run on one mat and last two days. The trials will change the life of all those who compete. My coach Rhadi always says “the story of the Olympian and the alternate is the same. They both include struggle, pain, sacrifice and perseverance; only they end a lot differently.” The procedure for athlete seeding and unseating the number one seed has been detailed by USA Judo Inc. and I will simplify it here.
First and foremost at the close of the US Nationals on April 12, the so called point race is over. The rankings of each athlete at that point will be their positions in the Trials despite what may take place between competitions. Why is this important? The number one ranked athlete at the close of the Nationals has a distinct advantage in that if he or she loses during the preliminary action in the Trials, they fall into a best of three fight-off that evening with the winner of the Finals. You could call it the ultimate second chance. This means a lot in such a high pressure event.
For those of you who have never attended an Olympic Trials event, take this opportunity to experience it firsthand. The atmosphere, pressure, excitement and pure exuberance of the athletes is the closest thing to the Olympics you can experience. Due to the special circumstance, you can expect the unexpected. Some freak things happen at Trials and having a failsafe is priceless. There are a few divisions that the number one athlete is already secure, but there are those who will be decided by their finish at Nationals.
Preliminaries-The top eight athletes in every qualified division will be invited to compete in the Olympic Trials. In the event that a player refuses or is unable to compete, the next consecutive player will be bumped up into his position. Divisions that do not qualify for the Games through the Pan American Judo Union will not be invited to the Trials. Athletes with points in one division may not transfer them to another, which makes the point list pretty concrete as far as who will be competing.
The elimination brackets will look like this according to the seeding procedure.
Here are the conditions. Assuming the number one athlete wins his pool, and the Finals, his day is over, and he can bask in light of becoming a one percenter. In the case that the number one athlete loses at any point during the day, he will then wait until after the finals are complete, and fight the winner in a best of three fight off to decide who will be an Olympian. This means that if #1 loses to #4 in the Semi finals, and #4 then loses to #3 in the Finals, #1 will fight #3 in the fight off. Although #1 was unseated by #4, it does not matter. Only the winner of the finals is important. So, number one controls his or her own destiny.
The fight-offs will take place after the Finals are complete. The loser of the finals, or of the fight-off will be tagged Olympic alternate. If by some stroke of bad luck the selected athlete and the alternate are unable to compete in the Olympic Games, the preference is then reverted to the highest ranked athlete on the post US Nationals frozen point roster.
At the close of the Trials there will be some mandatory training for the Olympic Team, but it has not been scheduled as of yet.
Olympic Trials Schedule
Friday, June 13
- Men’s Judo: 66 KG, 90 KG, 100 KG, +100 KG
- Women’s Judo: 52 KG, 63 KG and 70 KG
- Preliminaries 10am-2pm
- Finals 5pm-7.30
- U.S. Olympic Team Final Match #1
- Challenge Tournament 3rd Place Matches
- U.S. Olympic Team Final Match # 2
- U.S. Olympic Team Final Match # 3 (If necessary)
- U.S. Olympic Team Final Match #1
- U.S. Olympic Team Final Match #2, 3 and 4 (if necessary)
- Consolation Round #1 (if necessary)
- U.S. Olympic Team Alternate Match (if necessary)
Saturday, June 14
- Men’s Judo: 60 KG, 73 KG, 81 KG
- Women’s Judo: 48 KG, 57KG, 78 KG and +78 KG
- Preliminaries 10am-2pm
- Finals 5pm-7.30
- Will follow same schedule.
Retrieved from <http://www.usajudolasvegas.com/schedule.php>
Seems like #1 should bow out on his first match. Then he gets to take on the exhausted winner in an endurance (best of three) contest.
That might be a risky strategy. Especially since you may not know how competitive that person may be. I was really hoping to see Judo televised this year. Luckily we were able to watch online. I want to start training in Judo. It looks like fun as well as great exercise.