About Us
Founded in 1982 by Edmonton judoka, Wally Litousky and Kathie Okamura. The Edmonton Yudanshakai Judo Society (EYJS) is a non-profit organization focused on the development of youth and young adults through the sport of judo. In recent years, the organization has provided multiple judo tournament opportunities in the greater Edmonton area to competitive judoka, and has utilized these events to train the membership in all aspects of tournament operations. The membership in EYJS is through Judo clubs in the communities of Edmonton, Drayton Valley, Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove and St. Albert.
EYJS offers monthly regional tournaments, which are focused on children (16 years old and younger) and are limited to lower ranks (yellow to green belts). These are developmental tournaments aimed at developing the skill sets of young judoka in a tournament setting. They also include training camps for development and growth of these individuals.
In 2006, EYJS developed the Edmonton International Judo Championship. This event includes age groups starting at U10 (8 years) through to Veterans. In the Spring of each year, it is held on the Ice Palace at West Edmonton Mall, North America’s largest shopping and entertainment mall.
The Edmonton International Judo Championship is a four-mat, multi-day event held in the centre of this 5.3 million ft² facility, under a 16,000 ft² skylit venue. This tournament venue facilitates the passive and active review of our sport by as many as 100,000 visitors daily to West Edmonton Mall. The venue is the #1 tourist attraction in Alberta and attracts 31 million visitors annually and unquestionably provides the greatest array of ancillary benefits of any judo event in the world.
The Edmonton International Judo Championship is a Judo Canada sanctioned National “A” event that now attracts almost 1,000 competitors, primarily from across Canada, but in recent years has included many judoka from Japan, South America, Europe, Asia, and the USA. This event is a Canadian National Team Ranking Points tournament, and also forms part of the important Canadian Level “A” judo tournament circuit. A “must attend” event for those who want to participate in a large, highly organized, competitive judo tournament and also receive ancillary benefits from its very unique location. Due to its size and popularity this event is live broadcasted to all interested parties.
Volunteer Opportunities
If your children participate in our monthly tournaments, please consider volunteering. If you are a judoka (blue belt and above), you can volunteer to help referee matches at the monthly events.
Local volunteers are also always needed for managing, organizing, operating, setup and tear down of the Edmonton International Judo Championships. As this is a very large tournament run by local Edmonton and area judo clubs, your assistance is appreciated!
To get started, just approach one of the coaches or organizers or send us an email and ask what you can do to help.
