Director Hope Stams of Judo Bond Nederland (JBN) was one of the first to dare to speak out about the early vaccination of Olympic athletes. He described this as “the social responsibility of a limited group.” After a storm of criticism, it proved correct this week. “I didn’t thank you for the talk that came out. But next time I will do it again.”
Stams tested the weakness of the athletes in his specialty, a communication sport par excellence. As a result of a previous injury, Frank de Witt, Tornik Tzjacadoya and Simon Katharina missed the European title fight in Lisbon this week. Henk Grool and Kim Bowling have already received the Corona. “I’m happy,” says Stams. “This decision by the government provides more certainty. We wanted to see it a little earlier due to the Coronavirus cases. Tokyo is approaching. Every day of preparation you miss now weighs heavily.”
But, way of speaking, haven’t judo players really made enough antibodies? Stams is not so sure. “My partner has a prominent athletic background and was very ill with this virus. Then she got infected again, although fortunately the complaints were less than then. This means that athletes who have fallen ill are not completely safe. Especially after intense workouts. Are they vulnerable. To injury. “
Partly because of the speedy tests, national judo players have the situation well under control in their country. Under the leadership of national coach Martin Arens, major successes have already been achieved in the run-up to the Olympics. However, things sometimes go wrong with an infection abroad. Stammes: “For example, at a training camp in Georgia, different measures have been applied than the ones we took. You have to go along with something human. Everyone has now realized that this is not wise.”
Stames has talked about sport and festivity on several fronts. It wasn’t always fun for policymakers in the current crisis. “What we know for sure is that vitality in the community is incredibly important at the moment. But the community is not encouraged to move collectively. Mayors seem to think the balcony is more important. Of course I crave that too. But with beer. And pastries. , Coronacillus is only being added. We are now all skeletally moving 150 million minutes less per week, according to researchers. This has resulted in an average of 5.5 kg of fat per person being increased. New research in England shows that less exercise is such an important reason. It increases the risk of corona infection. I think this is not the intention if we want a healthy and vibrant population. “
Stammes has often voiced himself in favor of resuming indoor sports, which has now been suspended for nearly a year, except for top athletes. “I understand there is some hope now in mid-May, but judo at 1.5 meters will still be difficult. We have the protocols to make it work safely, but we are not getting a great response. We are now considering whether to go start another campaign to defend our interests.”
In the long run, Stams says, the consequences are dire as well. “Membership numbers in sports federations are declining and it is not easy for everyone to recover. We would still prefer to be lazy than tired. It would be great to convince people to exercise again. Fortunately, we as Judo Association have data from all members and will be in touch with them soon.” To return. The campaign is ready. We are just waiting for our friend Hugo to open the gyms again. “
“Lifelong entrepreneur. Total writer. Internet ninja. Analyst. Friendly music enthusiast.”
More Stories
Monster Jam Showdown Launch Trailer
The European Digital Twin Ocean prototype reveals many possibilities
Instagram now lets you add a song to your account