The Slovenian head coach of the Judo Federation, Rok Draksic, already has a contract until the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Now the association would like to hire one more coach.
Uncertainty in receiving subsidies causes challenges for the Judo Federation aiming for an Olympic medal.
In its meeting, the board of the Finnish Judo Federation had to decide on the extension contracts of two of its coaches and the hiring of one new coach, without certain information about whether the Judo Federation will receive enough support from the Olympic Committee for hiring next year.
– Yes, it is a certain kind of challenge. The head coach’s employment contract has been concluded until Los Angeles, and part of that funding comes from the Olympic Committee’s enhancement support, says the coaching manager of the Finnish Judo Federation Otto Favén.
– Now the employment contracts of coaches under 18 and under 21 expire at the end of the year. In them, a significant part of the funding also comes from efficiency support.
According to Favén, enhancement support is a crucially important funding channel for sports associations.
– If we now receive, for example, 20,000 euros less in enhancement support, then the Judo Federation’s budget will immediately be 20,000 minus for next year, elaborates Favén.
The timetables for decisions on enhancement subsidies changed
At the end of November, reported how the distribution of subsidies for enhancing sports federations was transferred from the Olympic Committee to the Ministry of Education and Culture.
This year, the Judo Federation normally started the competition processes with the Olympic Committee, completed them and applied for new enhancement subsidies. It was only after that that I was informed that the subsidies must be applied for from the Ministry of Education and Culture.
For example, last year’s Olympic Committee’s elite sports unit decided to boost support for summer sports already at the beginning of December.
Now they will not be announced until next year, maybe in January. This causes difficulties, especially for smaller associations whose coaches’ contracts are on hold.
– I would believe that this is something that many federations are thinking about, because the vast majority of youth Olympic coaching contracts are about to expire or will end now, when the Olympic Games also ends, says Favén of the Judo Federation.
The judo association must also be prepared for the fact that the boost support is smaller than what has been applied for.
– This must be taken into account in employment contracts. We haven’t prepared it legally yet, but of course we have to prepare for it, says Favén.
However, he hopes that the subsidies will come as planned.
Betting on the fourth coach
With the meritorious Slovenian head coach of the Judo Federation, With Rok Draksic is already under contract until the Los Angeles Olympics.
Now the association would also like to invest in the group of athletes behind the absolute top and hire one more under-23 coach.
– There we have had a clear weak point in the system, which we have decided to fix with this additional coach hire. The transition from 21 years old to adult level is very important. You should still strive for the top level.
According to Favén, the matter has been prepared for almost two years and funding has been considered through different channels.
– Now is the moment when we have our plans ready for Los Angeles.
The goal is an Olympic medal
Although the Olympic Games in Paris were not a success, Finnish judokas have done well in recent years.
Last year Martti Puumalainen won European Championship gold in the heavyweight division and Luukas Saha won bronze at this year’s World Championships. In addition, last year Finland received EC medals in all junior series.
The big goal is the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
– Our goal is to get one medal in Los Angeles, says Favén.
At this stage, there are 2-3 potential Finnish judo medal candidates, but behind them there are also a few athletes waiting for a breakthrough.
– There are also more than ten athletes who can get to Los Angeles. The goal is for more athletes to get there, says coaching manager Favén.
However, the amount of work is really big.
– If we want to raise a wider group of athletes to the top, the quality of coaching needs more pairs of eyes and experts, says Favén.