Competitors must register and weigh-in on Friday 16 February 2024. Registration and weigh-in will be open from 17:00 until 20:00. Registration and weigh-in are in the competition venue, the sports centre at Wolverhampton University, Walsall Campus (WS1 3EZ) Competitors who do not register, and do not weigh-in, will be withdrawn.

Registration is likely to be very busy, so please ensure you arrive in plenty of time.

Please note: Competitors who do not make weight on Friday night will not be allowed to re-weigh on Saturday morning.

Licences

Competitors must provide their BJA license and student identification at registration and weigh-in. Students without a valid, in-date license cannot compete.

Accepted Licences are as follows:

British Judo Association

Welsh Judo Association

Judo Scotland

Northern Ireland Judo Federation

British Judo Council

Amateur Judo Association

To be insured to compete at BUCS, competitors must have one of the above licenses if they are training at either a university judo club or any other UK judo club. A recreational license does not cover competitions or gradings.

The weigh in for the competition will be an Open Weigh In.

ALL Competitors (Women and Men) must weigh in in competition legal Judogi Trousers, and a plain white crew neck t shirt/rash guard. Men may choose to not wear a t-shirt, if no t-shirt is worn 0.1kg will be removed from the below allowance: 

For Women’s weight categories of -48kg, -52kg, -57kg, -63kg, -70kg, -78kg and +78kg and Men's weight categories of -60kg, -66kg, -73kg, -81kg, -90kg, -100kg and +100kg an allowance of 0.8kg will be given.

Competitors should weigh-in on Friday evening, between 17:00 and 20:00pm. If students are not able to make weigh-in on Friday, there will be extremely limited time/space available to weigh-in on Saturday morning for exceptional circumstances only. If you are unable to make weigh-in on Friday, please email Chris Lamb who will be able to authorise a Saturday morning weigh-in.

Female categories must wear a t-shirt/rash guard during the contest and open weigh-ins. The full, updated policy as of November 2023 for wearing t-shirts/rash guards in competition and replacing damaged or soiled garments procedure can be found here.

Competitors may wear a blue judogi when appropriate; however, they must also have a white judogi to wear when required. Competitors wearing white and blue judogi for their contest must wear their grade belts.

Coaches should inform the BUCS staff at registration on Friday or before the first pool stages on Saturday, of their intention to coach their competitors. Only one coach will be allowed in the coaching chair for each match. Coaches will be given a wristband to ensure referees are aware of who may coach.

There will be no coaching allowed throughout the contest at Level 3. Level 4 there will be no coaching between Hajimi and Mate.

A full schedule will be released on the week of the event, although exact timings cannot be confirmed until weigh-in is completed.

PLEASE NOTE: A competitor briefing will take place on the competition mats before the first pool stages on Saturday morning. The briefing is not mandatory, but it is strongly encouraged all competitors attend so they are aware of any recent/updated rule adaptions.

BUCS judo competitions are governed in accordance with the National Governing Body rules and regulations, unless superseded by a BUCS rule or regulation. The full BUCS regulations can be found here.

The BUCS Judo Championships shall be conducted in accordance with the following BUCS sport specific regulations, the BUCS general regulations, and the British Judo (BJA) Contest Rules (June 2023), Contest Rule Amendments (Nov 2023) and Contest Rule Changes (2023). Further event specific requirements, rules, and regulations will be contained within the entry and pre-event information for each Championship.

The British Judo (BJA) Policy on Trans Competitors shall be followed.

The BUCS Tournament Referees and/tournament director in charge have the final decision in all sporting competition matters. This includes any rulings or disputes not covered by regulations.

Please see Appendix 1 for the BUCS Points available at this event.

Please note: If there is the need to combine two weight categories then medals would only be awarded once for the combined category. BUCS medals will be distributed as detailed in regulation 6: BUCS points, medals, and trophies. BUCS reserves the right to merge weight categories without warning and as is necessary for the competition.

Changes, including withdrawals, after the entry closing date must be made in writing by an athletic union or students’ union and e-mailed to the BUCS Event Lead Chris Lamb.

Withdrawals after the entry closing date will still be charged the entry fee.

Withdrawals after 5:00pm on Thursday 8 February 2024 will be classified as a ‘no-show’. They will be charged the entry fee and an additional £10 fine payable by the athletic union or students’ union.

Competitors who do not withdraw, and do not register and weigh-in at the venue, will be also classified as a ‘no-show’ and will be charged the entry fee and an additional £50 fine payable by the competitor’s athletic union or students’ union.

Please see REG 7.9 for our withdrawal policy

This event will be used as qualification for European Universities Games 2024. The Gold & Silver medallist in each weight category (1st Kyu and above) will automatically qualify with further qualification subject to National Governing Body approval. All selected athletes will have to confirm their attendance within 7 days of event completion by email to [email protected]. 

Qualifiers must speak to Chris Doherty (BJA Delivery Officer) on the day of competition for further information regarding selection and to provide contact details.

Post event, qualifiers will receive communications from Jack Walsh (BUCS International Administrator) with further information regarding the administrative next steps.  

There is parking available at the venue. Directions will be clearly signposted upon arrival.

There will be a male and female changing room at the venue that is free to use for competitors. This will be shared with other indoor users of the venue. Disabled changing access is also available, which will be available by request at the venue reception.

On Saturday the Boulevard Coffee Lounge, located in the Jerome K Jerome Building a short walk away from the sports centre, will be open from 9am - 2:30pm.

There will be no café open on Sunday, so athletes and spectators are advised to bring their own food and drink.

There is a Co-Operative convenience store and other takeaway food options available around a 15-minute walk away, on the Broadway.

There will also be vending machines available at the venue.

Spectators are permitted; however, space is limited for this provision and priority should be given to coaches and competitors should there be a lack of available seating.

Presentations will take place at the end of each day. On Saturday, individual presentations will be awarded, and on Sunday team presentations will be awarded.

Anyone wishing to take photos or video at this event must complete the BUCS Media Accreditation Form prior to the event, and must collect a wristband from event control on the day of the event.

BUCS reserves the right to prohibit photography equipment being used at a BUCS event. BUCS reserves the right to request that the individual ceases to take photographs, deletes any images and, if considered necessary, leaves the venue.

The sustainability of our event matters to us and these are the positive steps we are taking to manage our environmental impact:

• All staff and volunteers are encouraged to travel to the event via public transport/car sharing.
• We have used local suppliers where possible.
• Event programmes are all online, minimising paper use.

How can you help at this event? Here’s some ideas:

• Be self-sufficient by using refillable bottles and coffee cups to reduce waste.
• Travel smarter – as a team on a minibus, cycle or use public transport.
• Go paperless - use your phone for all event information.