Judo in the Northwest

New Referee Levels authorized by International Judo Federation

Contributed by Sensei Calvin Terada

Levels of Referees and Associated Events in USA JUDO
William Graves, Asst. to the Chairman, Referee Commission
Current as of April, 8, 2004

The International Judo Federation (IJF) authorizes four levels of referees:

International (also known as IJF-A) Continental (also known as IJF-B) Regional * (also known in the Pan American Judo Union as PJU-C, previously ‘Confederation’ – #Only offered by PJU.) Federation (in USA, called ‘National Referee’)

            Officials must be members of the Federation within which they reside.  In the United States, that is USA JUDO. USA JUDO recognizes two sub-Federation levels of Judo referees, called Regional* and Local.  Those levels have been left to the purview of Group A and Group B members of USA JUDO to define, develop and maintain.

  *Notice there is an international level named ‘Regional,’ and a sub-National ‘Regional.’

            Responsibility for Referee development and coordination with IJF contest rule interpretation and promulgation within USA JUDO is vested in the Referee Commission (previously known as the Referee Certification Subcommittee.)  All International (IJF-A) Referees who are members in good standing with USA JUDO qualify to be members of the Referee Commission.

            Development of National Referees within the USA by the Referee Commission includes evaluation into one of several levels of ability and experience. Those levels are:

N-0 (National Referees of very high ability who are projected to soon be candidates for PJU Regional.) N-1 (National Referees of very high ability, eligible to officiate at any National Championship event in the USA; also eligible to be candidates.) N-2 (National Referees of demonstrated ability and experience, eligible to officiate any National Junior Championship.) N-3 (Entry level for National Referees) N-4 (Probationary status)

            The level of a National Referee is a matter of restricted information between the Referee Commission and the National Referees.  It is not generally publicized and should not be divulged by the individual referee or any other judo agency outside the Commission.  If asked, a National Referee should refer to himself or herself as a ‘National Referee.’

            In order to provide appropriate expertise at events of differing levels of difficulty, certain tournaments require a minimum referee level to officiate. Referees at levels below that minimum are encouraged to work such tournaments in other capacities, such as technical officials (timing, scorekeeping.)  All USA JUDO National Championships require a referee to hold the N-2 level.  The USA JUDO Senior National Championship requires at least N-1.

            In order to provide challenge for improvement, update changes in knowledge and skill levels and assure that they are current; the Commission conducts referee evaluations at several Evaluation events and Test events each year.  All National Test sites are also Evaluation sites. National Referees are expected to attend the clinic and to officiate at least one Credit, Test or Evaluation tournament per year.  The evaluations are organized and supervised by Commission members assigned to these events.  The evaluators may be assisted by other Commission members present, or other high ranking referees, as deemed appropriate by the assigned evaluators.

            To progress from N-3 (entry level) to N-2, a National Referee must be evaluated at two or more evaluation/examination sites in a calendar year and earn an average rating no higher than 2.50.  To progress from N-2 to N-1, a National Referee must be evaluated at two or more evaluation/examination sites during a calendar year, one of which must be an N-2 level event (such as High School or Collegiate National Championship, the Junior Olympics or the Fall Classic.)  In the latter case, the referee would have to earn an average rating of 1.50 or lower.

            Regional Referees who are past their 18^th birthday, are members of USA JUDO, hold a minimum judo rank of Shodan, and have been a Regional Referee for at least one year may take the National Referee examination at any National Test site listed below.  Candidates should bring USJI card and a copy of the Regional certificate to the candidates’ clinic.

            The status of all National Referees is re-evaluated annually after the final evaluation event of the year.  The rating given verbally after an evaluation tournament is the rating for that event and does not change a National Referee’s status for that year.

            A complete list of the National Test, Evaluation & Credit sites for 2004, and the minimum referee level approved for each site, is provided below. These sites are relatively stable from year to year, but are subject to review and re-evaluation by the Referee Commission each year.

Sensei Memorial (San Jose, CA) Test site Any N or candidate MidWest Championship (Chicago IL area) Test site Any N or candidate USA JUDO High School Nationals Evaluation N-2 USA JUDO Collegiate Nationals Evaluation N-2 Swamp Classic (Lafayette, LA) Test site Any N or candidate USA JUDO Senior Nationals Evaluation N-1 Liberty Bell Classic (Philadelphia, PA) Test site regional (Day 1-Jrs) Any N/candidate (Day2) AM-CAN Challenge (Buffalo, NY area) Test site Any N/candidate USJF Junior Nationals (varies) Credit Any N (*under USJF authority) USJA Junior Nationals (varies) Credit Any N (*under USJA authority) USA JUDO Junior Olympics (varies) Evaluation N-4 (Day 1–younger div.) N-2 (Day 2-older div.) USA JUDO Junior Open (Miami FL area) Evaluation N-1 USA JUDO Fall Classic Evaluation N-2 USA JUDO Ladder Tournament Evaluation N-4 US OPEN (Seniors, Las Vegas) Evaluation PJU REGIONAL Continental Crown (Spokane WA area) Test site N-4 & candidate

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