Blind judo introduced
SLJA public relations officer Kendal Burton
CASTRIES, SAINT LUCIA – From the month of June this year, The Saint Lucia
Judo Association (SLJA) and the Saint Lucia Blind Welfare Association (SLBWA)
have formed an unlikely alliance, to bring the sport of Judo to the island’s blind
and visually impaired.
The SLBWA, which already has an ongoing blind cricket programme, is excited at
the prospect of yet another sport that its members can become active in.
Judo has been growing rapidly in popularity, since becoming and Olympic sport in
1964. That popularity has grown ever since Judo became a part of the
Paralympic Games 1988.
One hundred and fifty Paralympic Judo athletes are expected to participate in the
2008 Beijing Games, with all being blind or visually impaired.
According to Public Relations Officer for the SLJA Kendal Burton, blind and visually
impaired athletes are competing in a multiplicity of sports.
“Everyday are proving that their handicap is not a hindrance or impediment to
competition or success in those disciplines and the same holds for Judo,” he
stated.
According to Burton, “Through organizations like the United States Blind Athletes
Association, The Blind Judo Federation, the International Blind Sports Federation
and a host of others, blind and visually impaired athletes are competing and
winning in every sport you can imagine, from swimming, and archery to skiing
and shooting. They have excelled at Judo internationally, and we at the Saint
Lucia Judo Association think the time is ripe for us to work with the SLBWA to
widen the number of disciplines open to our blind and visually impaired here in
Saint Lucia. We’ve opened the door and we hope other associations and clubs
will follow suit and create the opportunities for blind and usually impaired
persons to realize their full potential using sport as a means through which to do
that,” he said.
President of the SLJA Paul Richards, agrees stating “The success of blind athletes
internationally he says speaks volumes about their courage and ability to
overcome adversity and is an example of how almost anything is possible with a
little encouragement and a lot of determination.”
A case in point he says is recent naming of a blind athlete as one of the top ten
Judoka in the world.
“That’s top ten in the entire world among blind and sighted Judoka alike. There is
no reason why the blind and visually impaired person should feel limited by their
disability, whether it is in Judo or some other sport or in life for that matter, and
that is one of the benefits we hope that they will gain from participating in this
blind judo programme that we’re initiating,” Richards explained.
According to Richards Judo is a way of life that requires a great deal of dedication
and discipline; discipline he says that will carry into their areas of the students’
lives.
” It will build confidence and help them accept other challenges; help them to be
more focused, while also learning a form of self defense,” he said
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