IJF – International Judo Federation

The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in 1951 and governs judo worldwide. It brings together 200+ national federations across five continental unions and oversees the rules, world ranking and major events, including the World Judo Championships and the IJF World Tour (Grand Slams and the Masters). In 2019, the IJF moved its headquarters from Lausanne to Budapest and works closely with the IOC on the Olympic programme.

Judo debuted at the Olympic Games for men in Tokyo 1964 (returning in 1972), while women’s judo became an official medal sport at Barcelona 1992 after a demonstration event in Seoul 1988. Today there are seven weight categories for women and seven for men plus a mixed team event. Bouts are decided by ippon and waza-ari using holds (osaekomi), strangles (shime-waza) and armlocks (kansetsu-waza); ties go to golden score.

Now: The IJF runs an annual World Championships and a year-round World Tour where points count toward the world ranking and Olympic qualification. The 2025 Worlds were held in Budapest.