Carlos Zegarra is the President of the Pan American Judo Confederation and he is a happy president. We met him on the occasion of the third day of the World Youth Championship; great opportunity to take stock of the competition, but also of judo throughout the continent.
“I feel very happy and at the same time I feel the great responsibility that belongs to us to develop judo on the Pan American continent. This World Youth Championship will certainly contribute to that. Since the beginning of the competition, I have a lot of fun after the tournament, but I also know that we have to do everything to make everything right. In the end, I feel proud because we organized a wonderful event, keeping in mind our culture. This beautifully organized race in Ecuador will serve as a benchmark for other countries. The idea is simple: when you want, you can.”
The cultural dimension is therefore central to the approach taken by the Judo Federation of Ecuador and the PJC, “Pan-America is a continent of extraordinary diversity. Imagine that, from the frozen territories of the far north, to the southern tip, you cross the USA, Central America or South America, the living environments are of endless variety. Here in Latin America, whether in Ecuador or Peru where I come from, we love to show our joy. Smiles are deeply etched on our faces. We love To hug and think like a family. Sharing our traditions is normal. We love full tables, sharing our love and respect for other cultures.
I want our athletes to be proud of who they are and their culture. The magic of judo is that it is a place to divide and unite people from all over the world. I believe we managed to do that in Guayaquil. On the tatami we can demonstrate our skills while respecting others.”
It is therefore not surprising that Carlos Zegarra sees beyond pure performance, “Just before this world championship I was in Cuba, the USA and Peru. I jumped on the tatami as soon as I could. A judo session with young people is a good thermometer. to imagine what the future of a country or even a continent will look like. In my opinion, there are two paths in judo, even if in the end both come together. The first is a high-level sport, high-level competition, but if you think about it, only a small number of judo players are directly involved, the other direction is that of judo with social goals.
When we take a closer look at our continent and its disparities, we quickly realize that there are gaps between demographic groups. There are few rich people and many poor people. One of the consequences is that delinquency is very common. I see judo as a bridge between us all. Judo can provide an excellent opportunity to become a good person. This is not about financial opportunities, but about social opportunities.
Having said that, we understand that judo is not limited to competition and this is the message I convey as often as possible. Judo is truly becoming a universal culture and perhaps a way of life. This is why I always want to visit judo clubs when I travel around the continent. I always ask questions: do you want to become champions? What are you doing for your family? Then I explain that becoming a competitor is one thing, but that it is also possible to be a coach, referee, manager or simple fan, even a president like me. I was a high-level competitor and I can say that being a champion is not for everyone and is limited in time, so we have to work for everyone, without exception, because we need everyone.”
Returning to the World Junior Championships, Carlos Zegarra has many reasons to be pleased. The Ecuadorians I meet, there is a lot of emotion in their eyes, because they understand that what they are doing is not only for them, but for the whole world.
So, yes, for sure, the challenge was great. Organizing such an event is never easy and you can imagine what that would mean here, but the bottom line is that it is possible and what Ecuador has done, now other countries on the continent can do it .”
The next few years will be decisive for Pan American judo, “We are starting to implement a real high-level policy in all countries. Paris 2024 is already tomorrow and we are already investing in Los Angeles 2028. Six years no are too many to implement a real strategy. I think Guayaquil is an excellent platform for the future and a starting point that will allow us to mobilize our judoka. I was very happy to see the performance of Jack Yonezuka (USA) on the day of second and the Brazilians, for example. We must build something for these young people who will be tomorrow’s champions. For this we will rely heavily on the IJF. We must work together.
A few months ago, we also organized an arbitration seminar in Lima, Peru. It was a great success. Every year, we will continue our development. For example, from 2023, once a country wants to host an open continental, it will also have to host cadet and junior competitions.
Finally, and this is perhaps the most important for me, we will continue to work to strengthen the social dimension of judo. I have a personal story that drives me to do it. In Latin America, more than anywhere else, it is so easy to cross red lines and find yourself involved in delinquency. Judo showed me the way. This is the power of our sport. We must promote our values by example. So, as the president of the continent now, when I visit a country, I always want to meet the authorities to tell them about us, but also the young judoka, to show them that they too can succeed. We need political support and we need our judoka to understand that they have a tremendous opportunity with the chance to do judo.
The crime rate here is so high that the work is immense, but it is our reality and our duty as leaders to make our societies better. In judo, from a young age we learn the culture of compromise and mutual respect. While it is so easy to be tempted by drugs and alcohol, if we can make young people understand that by playing sports and judo we can become good people, we will have taken a big step. The role of coaches is also crucial and for this we will work more and more intensively to help them.
Everything I tell you, I tell you from experience. We need to strengthen our social infrastructure and programs to better promote our values.
We are a family, a big family that is ready to welcome everyone”.
With words like that, there is no doubt that anyone wants to be a part of Carlos Zegarra’s judo family. All you have to do is want it.
